I Promise
by LilMissWinchester
Summary: Sam needs help. So he makes a few calls. Well, one in particular. He didn't know it was going to change his brothers life.
1. Chapter 1

Disclimer-I don't own Supernatural. You think this would be fanfiction if I did? Exactly. They would be my own little spin off series...  
A/N-I'm back! Hehehe...well, it's taken long enough. As for updates, they'll probably be at least semi-irregular, because I went back to hell yesterday. Oh, did I say hell? I meant school...Anywho, on with the show!

**Chapter 1**

Dean sat at the bar, semi-cold beer grasped loosely in his right hand. Two months left and he was cruising for a hookup, while Sam, he knew, was typing another whole load of crap into his laptop.

Dean had come to accept his fate a while ago. Or so he thought.

Then _she_ walked in to the bar. All legs and cocky attitude, he could see it by the way she practically sauntered up to the counter, the beginnings of a smirk turning full red-tinged lips upward as she ordered a beer.

A long fringe was pinned out of her eyes, the rest of her wavy chocolate colored hair falling a little way down her back. But he couldn't see her eyes, hidden behind a pair of vintage aviators as they were. They completed her cocky demeanor to the fullest.

And, because Dean was Dean and because he was human, he stood, only to sit down next to her.

As it turned out, she looked at him first. After, of course, removing her glasses and the black leather jacket she was wearing to reveal a simple tight black tee and jeans, feet protected from the rather miserable weather outside by a pair of soft soled boots.

Crystal blue eyes looked searchingly into his mossy green ones, the glimmer of mischief all too like his own.

"Hey." Dean dropped his patented smirk back towards her as she started conversation. She raised her drink, mouth closing around it in a gesture that had him wondering if the room had suddenly heated up a little…that or whether his jeans had shrunk a few sizes in the last few seconds.

"Hey yourself." She tossed her hair from her slim shoulders, exposing tanned, almost flawless skin. Under the surface, he could see well toned muscles just the easy side of tense. Then she sneaked him a smile that was like a secret, and he could only just make himself grin back.

"So…You're not from around here." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She seemed to know what went on around here. He took a long swig from his own drink.

"No…actually, my brother and I are…uh, on a road trip. Just passing through." So it

wasn't the complete truth, but it wasn't a _total_ lie. That made him feel a little better. She cocked one of those perfectly shaped eyebrows and gave him a cheeky smile.

"He wouldn't happen to be about 6'4'', be staying at the Broken-house…uh, name like Sam?" Dean's eyes grew wider, and he would have panicked then and there, only she was still smiling, and he couldn't force himself to panic even if he tried.

"How did you…" Another of her cheeky grins.

"I pay attention. Just uh, not enough to know your name." Oh, now she was hinting. That he liked. A lot.

"Dean. And what would a pretty lady like you be wanting with that?" She was looking at him from underneath long, thick eyelashes, a dimple showing at the right hand corner of her mouth as she smiled.

"Oh, I don't know. Just curious I guess…I gotta bail." She finished the last of her drink and was out of the door before Dean could register as much. But he wasn't letting her get away that easy.

And wasn't it just his luck that by the time he had the cool air blowing onto his face, she'd only just made it halfway across the lot.

"Wait! Don't I get to know your name? At least?" She turned around, a soft smile on her face again and the light caught in those startling blue eyes.

"Lexi. Bye Dean."

-

No hookup and no more beers later, Dean was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel of the Impala, in time to an imaginary beat. He was headed back to the motel, not having been in the mood to see if he could pick up anyone else after that exchange with Lexi.

In fact, there was hardly any room left in his mind for anything but her, even as he stuck his key in the lock and turned it.

Sam jumped when he walked in, before settling back down and reading whatever was on the screen. Not for the first time, Dean looked at his brother and wondered if he'd ever seen Sam look this…tired. Because for all Dean could see his brother looking like crap, and like he was sick, _tired_ was the only word that seemed to fit properly.

"Well Dean Winchester, I took you for a lot of things, but stupid wasn't the one screeching out at me when we were at the bar. That was more along the lines of horny." She walked out of the kitchenette, her very stride still oozing cocky, just like before.

"Leave him alone Lex." Sam said, not even looking up.

Dean was looking from one to the other in utter disbelief, mouth trying to form words when his tongue just wasn't cooperating.

"…You two…you…what?" That wicked glint appeared in her eyes again and she smirked the smirk not unlike his own.

"Long story short, I've known Sam for a while. We met in college." She'd sidled closer to him, looking the short way up into his eyes. She had to be five eight at the least.

"You went to college?" He tried, god knows he tried to keep the disbelief from his voice. The look she gave him—something almost innocent—told him he hadn't done a very good job though.

"You don't think I'm college material, right Dean?" She was closer than ever now, so close he could feel the heat radiating from her body. It was messing with his head.

"No…I mean, yeah…I just…" She was getting way too much pleasure out of watching him squirm. Sam was shaking his head, though his eyes still hadn't left the computer screen.

"I majored in Psychology. Passed with flying colors, too." He'd be the first to agree wholeheartedly to that. She'd known him for all of fifteen minutes and already she had a valid read on his mental state.

Not a good thing.

-

"So, tell me again what you're doing here." She shrugged, tilting the chair back on two legs.

"Sam called, asked for my help."

"And you know about this stuff how?" Dean didn't miss the way she hesitated just the smallest bit before answering.

"Call it acquired knowledge. I was just open to things, not blinkered." That was what he was looking for. She was hiding something, the way he judged it, something painful.

"How do you think you're going to be able to help?"

"I'll see what I can do. Need a little more to go on before I start jumping to conclusions sweetheart."

"So you know about the demon in the area, I'm guessing." Lexi nodded, long fingered hands drumming on the table top.

"Know all about that. Sam said you're going after it in a couple of days." Dean glanced over at his brother. No help there.

"Yeah…"

-

"What are you calling your college buddies and getting them to meet up for, Sam?" Dean hissed at his brother as soon as Lexi was out of earshot in the kitchen.

"I couldn't…" Sam sighed. "I needed help, Dean."

"Help with what?" Dean asked incredulously. Sam looked up at him, disbelieving.

"To save you, what else?" Dean groaned, tilting his head back and rolling his eyes.

"Damn it , Sam. I told you to stop." Sam stared at his brother, knowing he should have expected this. But Lexi could handle Dean; that had never bothered him. It was Dean handling her that he hadn't thought about. He supposed he should have known that the way Lexi could completely pull things out of left field would have upset the equilibrium a little.

"You honestly thought I'd listen, Dean? What am I supposed to do, just stop?"

"Well, that was the point, jackass." Dean muttered.

"Just let you die, that's what you want me to do. How am I supposed to do that, Dean? I'd rather…I'd rather die than watch you go to hell." Sam spat back, setting the computer on the table next to him.

Dean, snorted, before spreading his arms wide.

"And start this all over again? You're…"

"Yeah, stronger than you, you've said Dean." Sam said coldly, taking his eyes off his brother for the first time.

"Exactly. You could…"

"Live without you? The same way you couldn't without me? For fucks sakes, Dean; I've…I can't remember a time when you weren't there. I'm not just gonna give up." Dean stared at his brother until the almost desperate look on Sam's face made him sick to the stomach, at which point he turned around, dragging a hand through his hair.

"Why not?" He said, voice only just above a whisper, but still so frustrated. There was a crash behind him that made Dean whip around. Then Sam was in his face, tears shining in his eyes.

It was stupid, but all he could think, for the thousandth time, was; When did the kid get so tall?

"Because you're my brother, Dean! My brother! And I am not just going to walk away from this! Why would you think that? Why would you think that it's so easy for me to just watch you walk away like you don't care that you're going. To. Die." Sam punctuated the last words with a stab to Dean's chest.

Then there was a hand where Sam had hit, and Lexi was between them. She walked Sam away, talking to him soothingly the whole time.

"Hey, I think that's enough testosterone for tonight. No, c'mon, you're upset, you're tired, and you're scared. Just leave it, Sam, let me talk to him. Hey? How about you go out and get something to eat? Something for tonight, and something for tomorrow morning. And coffee too. Not the crap either, the good stuff. Take my car." She thrust her keys at him, looking up at Sam imploringly.

He turned on his heel and walked out, the empty echo of the heavy wooden door slamming filling the room.

Lexi turned towards Dean, giving him the smallest of smiles.

"What say you and me have a talk?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Look, I know how you must be feeling…"

"Oh really?" Dean asked, hating how ripped to shreds his voice sounded, but powerless to stop it. When he looked up though, Lexi was just watching him calmly.

"This is a family thing, and I'm not family. Hey, you've barely known me an hour. But…" She hesitated, toying with the chain around her neck. Whatever was on the end disappeared into the space between her breasts, hidden behind the thin black wife-beater she was wearing.

"But what?" He asked, mentally cursing again for the softness in his voice. But being stared down and yelled at by his little brother was making him feel like crap.

"I can help. I know a little about a lot of things…"

"Just enough to make you dangerous." Dean finished, catching her eye. And somehow, when she smiled at him, he couldn't help grinning back, no matter how small.

"It's true." Dean sighed.

"Why, though?"

"Well…When Sam called me…and, god, I haven't heard from him since…since Jess." Dean saw the look flit across her face, the same as Sam when he spoke about her.

"How long did you know her?" Lexi puffed out the slightest breath, which may have been a laugh, if she didn't have the faraway remembering look on her face.

"Since we were in pigtails. Anyway; when Sam called me…and you've got to know, when we were in college, Sam always had words. For everything. But when he called me, it was like he didn't know what to say. Like something was gone, or close to it. I couldn't ignore that. So I said I'd help him." Dean nodded his understanding.

"How…How did you get into this?" She was toying with the necklace again, and he could hear something clinking together at the end.

"I just always knew." Dean again sensed there was more, but he was suddenly so exhausted he didn't want to push it.

"Flip you for the sofa." He yawned. She grinned.

"You think I'm gonna share a room with guys? Had enough of that in college, thanks. I'm right next door." Ever the gentleman, Dean went to stand.

"Well, do you want me to…" She shook her head, pushing him back onto the end of the bed, where he'd been perched.

"Thanks, but I'm a big girl Dean, I can walk next door by myself. I'll be fine." Lexi walked towards the door, stopping when she got there. "See you in the morning." She said softly.

-

Dean woke briefly when Sam walked in.

"M'Sorry Sammy." He mumbled when he could vaguely make out Sam's silhouette.

There was silence for a minute, and Dean thought Sam wasn't going to answer. He was just about asleep again when he heard it.

"Me too Dean."

-

Sam looked like hell when he walked into her motel room at eleven. Lexi watched him practically fall into one of the lounge chairs, staring at the TV but not seeing. He tossed Lexi her keys.

"Thought you'd want them back…I swear, you two and your cars are ridiculous."

Lexi grinned.

"The 67 Impala's Dean's, right?" Sam nodded. "It needs a wax, it's gonna get rust." Sam laughed.

Lexi looked at her friend, reaching behind her and grabbing the next weapon she was going to clean. Intelligent eyes never left Sam once as she studied the nuances of his face, the same way she had when he helped her prep for a profiling exam back in college.

"I'll help you, Sam." She said quietly. The smile slipped off his face abruptly, to be replaced with a blank look she was sure he'd worn too much lately.

"That's what you said when I called you, it's the whole reason I asked you to come." Lexi set the gleaming razor sharp knife down on her bed again.

"Thought you might need to hear it again. It helps, sometimes." Sam nodded, and she could see he was chewing on the inside of his lip, fidgeting almost microscopically, so that if she hadn't been looking, she wouldn't have seen it.

"Lex...How are we..." She shushed him, standing up and walking over to the mirror to slip first one, then the other Jade green earring from her ears.

"Let's deal with this demon first, then move onto bigger things." She fixed him with a look in the mirror, over her shoulder, and caught the tail end of a small smile.

"You always were the smart one..."

"Good to know that hasn't changed...Get some rest, Sam." He turned and faced the wall, as if he could see through it to where there was a bed and a brother waiting.

Well, the bed was waiting. Dean was dead to the world, and he'd be that way until at least seven the next morning.

"...Okay. Night." He gave her a small wave. She cocked her head at him, grin forming around her full lips. Sam stopped, raising an eyebrow in question.

Without a word, Lexi walked over to him and wrapped him in a hug, hands splayed on her friend's back.

"Night Sam."

-

Dean woke to the smell of...was that waffles? And...Bacon?

He sat bold upright in his bed, looking around. Then an already familiar head popped around the kitchen doorway and grinned almost wolfishly at him.

"I was wondering how long it'd take for you to wake up." Lexi said, before disappearing back into the kitchen. Dean swung his legs over the edge of the bed and set bare feet onto the carpet.

He pattered over to the kitchen, not even trying to bite back the yawn intent on bursting out of his mouth.

"Oh yeah, because that's really what I want to see first thing in the morning." She was teasing him. He wasn't used to being teased this early in the morning anymore, not since Sam was usually so tired from being up all night.

"I know plenty of women who'd kill to be seeing that in the morning." He scoffed.

"Or, you know, kill to still have you there in the morning." Lexi muttered. He did his best to look offended, even if he couldn't wipe the smirk off his face.

"That hurts, it really does." She laughed, bright and bubbly, and he slumped down into one of the chairs.

"Because it's true or because she knows it?" Sam's voice joined in as he sat down across from his brother. Dean took a second but eventually he kicked Sam under the table.

"Son of a...That hurt, Dean." Sam halfway glared at his brother, only for it to turn full forced when Dean started to laugh.

"Guys! For gods sakes! Stop a minute. Here." Lexi set down three plates on the table and took her seat in between them, smile playing around her lips even as she shook her head.

Dean looked down at the first home cooked meal he'd had in forever and took a bite.

-

Dean had wolfed down two helpings and tried for a third, but by then Lexi had gone to get changed, and he couldn't be bothered cooking any more.

He was leaning against the door waiting for his brother when she stepped out of the room next door. She was dressed much the same as last night, only there were about seven rings on her fingers now, and a white wife beater underneath the black one. Again her hair was pinned from her face, and the aviators were covering her eyes.

She grinned up at him, keys rattling in her hand.

"See something you like?" She asked, slipping on a thin jacket. He smirked.

"You wish." His gaze swept across the parking lot, settling on a 1970 Buick GS Series one. He groaned appreciatively. "Man, what I wouldn't give to meet the guy who owns that sweet thing..." Lexi startled him with a laugh.

"You already have." Dean turned and cocked an eyebrow at her, just as Sam walked out of the motel room and into the early morning sunlight. He looked at his friend.

"What?" Lexi stopped laughing long enough to glance at the car, and Sam shook his head.

"It's hers, Dean." He told his brother, walking towards the pavement. The library was only a couple of blocks away, and he wanted to get rid of this thing as quickly as possible. But that meant legwork and research to do it properly, so they had to get started.

He got about halfway down the street before he noticed that neither his brother nor Lexi were following him. Turning around, he was about to read the riot act at the both of them before he saw Lexi pop the hood. Dean leaned under, seemingly taking everything in with one glance.

She said something Sam couldn't hear and Dean threw his head back and laughed. He laughed like Sam hadn't heard in ages, and it made him abruptly turn and start the walk to the library by himself.

He'd always been better at the research anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- I'm sorry for the deplorable lack of replies, but, like I said, back in hell, just trying to get into the swing of things. Seen the new epi...Dean is hiding in my closet. I May never let him leave. At least until I know the world's not gonna hurt him.

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A few days of research turned into almost a week, and a couple of days of false alarms. Dean was just starting to get frustrated when Lexi burst into the room, face flushed and triumphant gleam in her eye.

"I found it, I found it." She said in a singsong voice. Dean stood immediately and tucked his Colt 1911 into the waistband of his pants, instinct more than anything else.

"Really? Where?"

"Remember that farm we checked out, but then we were like 'it doesn't mean anything that the old man's creepy'?" Dean realized how stupid the statement sounded just as Lexi did and grinned at her.

"Yeah."

"It did mean something. He's been possessed for about a week. Before that it was his wife...apparently the demons local, and it's got some fuck all crossed wires." Dean quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't they all?"

"Yeah, but it likes body hopping. Just to...screw with people I guess. I couldn't find any actual reason for it, but it's good. Like, crazy good."

"How good is crazy good?" Dean was gathering things into a duffel bag, moving around the room with Lexi following and picking up anything he missed.

"Split second crazy good." She confirmed, which only made Dean growl in annoyance. Sam stood in the doorway; duffel already slung over his shoulder.

"You two ready to go?" Lexi glanced at Sam, then chewed her lip.

"I don't think you should come, Sam." He looked surprised.

"Why not? It'll be easier with all three of us." She nodded slowly, but then met his eyes.

"Sam, you're tired, and no matter how hard you try, your full concentration isn't going to be on this job. I don't blame you, but..." Sam's gaze turned icy cold, and Lexi almost shivered. Dean looked from one to the other.

He knew what she was saying was true; no matter how much Sam tried to say otherwise, they all knew he'd been up until all hours searching again, and Dean doubted whether his deal ever left Sam's mind.

"Don't ever tell me I don't know how to do my job, Alexis." With that Sam marched from the doorway, heavy footsteps echoing on the wooden porch. Dean looked at Lexi, eyebrow raised.

"Alexis?" It took her a second, but then she punched his arm.

"It's like you calling him Samantha, jackass."

"So it's not actually your full name?" She didn't look at him when she answered firmly, trudging over to the Buick.

"No."

-

"Sam look, I'm..." Sam shook his head as he rechecked the knife tucked in his boot.

"Forget it. You're right, but I won't let that happen." She wished she believed him, she really did, but that prickling feeling was on the back of her neck and it never meant good news.

It was only proved to be right once again as she was knocked flat on her back.

"Shit." She heard Dean curse and have the gun he was aiming ripped from his hands.

Lexi looked around from where she was pinned to the musty old floor. Sam had the knife drawn and was circling the possessed old man, their eyes locked.

"Sam Winchester...Wow, I really am hitting the jackpot tonight. And you've got Lexi here with you. How nice." Dean, by now, knew better than to struggle against the invisible bonds that were holding him. He did, however, try to reach for the colt tucked in his waistband, only to find he couldn't reach without making it obscenely obvious.

"Why don't you let them go and we'll have a nice little chat? Or, you know, I'll talk and you'll listen. Send you back where the sun don't shine." The demon grinned.

"You'd like to know what it's like down south, wouldn't you? Just so you could do the same to yourself when your brother goes there. Have your own little hell on earth." It happened so fast that Lexi thought she was seeing things; Sam had moved towards the guy, grabbed his collar. But when she'd said split second, she hadn't literally meant 'split second'.

She regained movement of her long limbs for a second, just about to spring up and shoot, stab, whatever the hell it took, but then she was pinned again. She had no clue as to whether Dean had seen or not, and was about to call out when Sam's large hand clamped around her mouth and he pulled her against a wall.

"I know this is hard for you, but keep your mouth shut." His voice was low and dangerous in her ear, breath hot against the skin of her neck. She struggled briefly, but then he reached for the blade that was still in his boot.

Then she couldn't speak even when his hand was gone, and he strode over to Dean.

"Hey Dean."

No Answer.

"You know, I always liked that about you Dean; The strong silent attitude. Why, the only time it wasn't there was when I was dead." Dean visibly flinched. "I hate you for that, you know." This was wrong, so wrong. It was Sam's voice; low and ripped to shreds, but Sam wasn't saying this. Lexi tried to open her mouth, make sure Dean knew for damn sure that this wasn't his brother.

"You really hate me?" Now she couldn't tell if he knew or not...god these guys had to go make things complicated.

"I hate you." Sam nodded.

"Dean! It's not Sam! He's possessed." A harsh blow to her cheek made Lexi quiet down, though she was seething that this thing was screwing around her friends. If it weren't in Sam, she'd kill it.

"I hate you Dean." It taunted. As much as he tried, Dean couldn't stop the pain flitting across his face. "Sometimes I wish you'd go. I don't need you. In fact, the best time of my life was when I was away from you and your melodramatic crap. I. Don't. Need. You."

-

Dean stared down the river banks, forlorn and more than a little lonely. But it didn't stop him from hearing the telltale snap of a twig, the shift of dirt underneath soft soled boots. He turned just as she stepped into the little stream-side clearing, her crystalline eyes soft with understanding.

"Mind if I join you?" As Lexi settled next to him, Dean gave a sad smirk.

"You'd stay even if I told you I did, wouldn't you?" She seemed to consider this for a moment, before nodding her answer.

"So, what's on your mind?" Oh, how many different ways could he answer that question?

"You wouldn't understand…" When he looked up, their eyes met; mossy green onto crystalline blue, and there was something of a challenge in the blues that made his stomach jolt.

"Really? Try me." He was close to losing any ounce of self restraint he had right there. The calm invitation in that familiar, already trusted voice made him feel safe; wanted. And he found he was talking, and he wouldn't--_couldn't-_-stop.

"It's just…everything. Every single little thing's finally starting to catch up with me. And it's painful. I mean that, back there? Not exactly your standard Dean Winchester thing, was it?" Breaking down in front of people? No, but she wasn't about to say that.

"Abnormal comes as standard with you Winchesters." Lexi muttered instead, bumping their shoulders in an effort to cheer him up a little. But Dean seemed too far gone to care.

"And then Sam tells me he doesn't want me…do you know how much that hurts?" Burning, relentless understanding shone in Lexi's eyes, just for a second, because she knew _exactly_ how that felt.

One slender, long fingered hand rose to Dean's elbow comfortingly, though if he noticed, he didn't say anything.

"And I _know_ it wasn't him talking, I know that better than I know a lot of other things, but it still…it still hurts, you know?" The glistening of what could have been tears in his eyes was quickly blinked away when he saw she was still looking at him, though they were back with a vengeance a few seconds later.

Lexi looked on in quiet astonishment. The Dean she knew wasn't like this. Not at all. And yet he seemed barely able to contain it all for much longer. He looked away, down the stream again, dragging a shaking hand through his short hair.

"It just…hurts…" and he was still determinedly looking away, sure that if she saw the state of utter vulnerability he was in she'd take advantage of it. Instead, he was mildly surprised when slim arms encircled his shoulders, pulling his head to rest in the crook of her neck.

"I know it does…I know it hurts…"

-

Dean was avoiding her. Pointlessly, and not very well, but he was making a concerted effort. Lexi just knew him too damn well, and how was that even possible? Because she's only known him for a week and she might possibly know as much about him as his brother did.

"Sam told me you wouldn't let him say sorry." Dean almost jumped out of his skin. He hadn't heard her follow him out of the motel room. Lexi fell into step beside him, casually looking around the street they were now walking down.

"That's cause he has nothing to _be_ sorry for."

"He feels like he does. You know Dean, this goes both ways. You don't like it when you try to apologize and he tells you no, because you feel like you have something to be sorry for and you need to hear someone say they forgive you. He's the same." Dean was, for want of a better word, stunned. He didn't even think Dad had known them this well. And she'd known him all of a week.

"Do you know how hard you are to avoid?" He changed the subject. She smirked.

"You can't avoid me, Dean Winchester. And I suggest you don't try again. It's a

waste of effort." Dean grinned back at her.

"Point noted. You want to grab lunch?" Lexi considered it for a second, glancing back in the direction of the motel.

"Sure."

-

Dean looked across the table at Lexi, following the path her guarded eyes were viewing.

"So, I'm thinking you know a hell of a lot about me for someone who's only known me for a week." She threw a smirk in his direction.

"That make you uncomfortable, Dean?" She was, right now.

"…A Little." He regretted admitting it immediately, the way she looked after; so proud, smug almost. "Don't reassure me at all…" He muttered sarcastically.

She grinned, eyes twinkling.

"Okay then, I won't…" She seemed to be thinking for a minute. "…You know, Sam used to talk about you all the time."

"He did?" Dean was startled.

"Not with Jess; she was his new life, but with me….we kind of…" She laughed a little, looking away, remembering. "We had these whole other personas that no one else saw, these people we could be around each other and not have to worry about what lies we'd told, what secrets we'd kept." Dean chewed thoughtfully on his sandwich, green eyes watching her carefully.

"You two didn't…" Lexi looked horrified.

"God no! He's like a brother to me, and besides; he wouldn't do that to Jess." Dean laughed outright at the look of utter horror still on her face.

"...What did you mean, 'lies we told'? You told them too?" He saw her look to her right, but she did it on purpose. She wasn't remembering.

"I...I just meant..."

"Stop it. I've picked up enough to know you forced the look to the right. You were going to look left. For someone who knows about profiling, and who knows me pretty well, I'm surprised." She huffed, sliding down in the seat and crossing her arms over her chest. One finger was wrapped around the chain that was always around her neck. Now he thought about it, he'd never actually seen what was on the end.

"I..." Lexi started to answer, only then Sam slid into the seat next to her and opened his lap top, making her look. "What am I looking at Sammy, there's about fifty possible cases on this page."

"And one actual case." He looked at Dean. "Bobby just called. There's a case in..."

"Casper Wyoming. Ha, Casper...think its Hilary Duff on a broom stick?"

"In my dreams..." Dean muttered, eye scanning the page.

"Dean! She was like, eight, in that movie."

"She's not eight now." He said, picking up his coffee and pulling the Impala keys out of his pocket with an impish smile.

Lexi stood up across from him, pushing the computer back towards Sam.

"Race you." She said, snapping her keys together an inch away from Dean's face before almost running out of the coffee shop. As soon as he set foot outside the door, he was running too, and Sam just followed behind, wondering how in the hell he was meant to keep an eye on two fully-grown kids now.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam had his face buried in a book when Dean's ring tone startled him out of concentration.

"Yo!" Dean's face was flushed, eyes gleeful as he kept one hand on the wheel.

"Give it up Dean, you're never going to win."

"Oh yeah?" Sam could clearly hear both sides of the conversation, and rolled his eyes. Not that Dean took any notice.

"Yeah."

"Why's that?" She laughed, and Sam wondered how Dean managed to keep the phone that close to his ear.

"Because, It's a proven fact that chicks rule. I have a tee shirt."

-

"Quit complaining and pay up, Dean. There was a hundred dollars riding on me beating you here, and I did, so pay up." Reluctantly Dean placed the money in Lexi's outstretched hand. She grinned triumphantly and a second later shoved it back into his. He stared for a minute.

"What? Are you giving this back?" She shook her head.

"Hell no, You need something to go get drinks with. I'll have a Margarita, and only because I wanna watch you squirm when you order it."

-

"Bitch..." Dean had sunk low in his chair, keeping his eyes away from the shit-eating grin Lexi was wearing.

"Jerk." Sam and Lexi answered simultaneously. She clinked their glasses together, still grinning, before something seemed to occur to her.

"So wait...Are we dealing with Casper the unfriendly ghost here? Or was that just wishful thinking?" Sam sighed; he'd forgotten how tiring it was having Lexi around full time. He liked her; in fact, she came second only to his brother. But the two of them and their ongoing banter was exhausting. Funny, but exhausting.

"Yeah it's a ghost...but wishful thinking might be pushing it."

"Why? Ghosts are easy..."

"Like you." Dean commented, although if she heard, Lexi ignored.

"And slow." She continued.

"Also like you." She'd heard all right; Lexi looked towards Dean, playful glare settling onto her face as she nudged his shin under the table.

"Pig."

"Bite me."

"Die a violent death." Dean had a reply ready when Sam cut across them.

"Guys, stop. Bobby said the other hunters that worked this job ended up dead."

"Maybe Casper wasn't feeling like visitors." Sam fixed his brother with a scathing look, to which Dean only shrugged.

"Maybe they sucked." Lexi offered. Sam's look turned skeptical. "Okay, I'll shut up now."

-

Dean stepped out of the motel room and into the early morning sunlight, stretching before he turned to the door of Lexi's room. Movement caught his eye and he was halfway to his Colt before he realized it was Lexi.

"Morning." She had the hood up on her car; hair saved the trouble of falling into the engine by an elastic.

"Hey..." Barely even realizing he was doing it, his eyes flicked up and down her lithe body.

The skin on the back of her long neck was pale, only now exposed to sunlight. There were strands of dark hair falling onto her temple and the nape of her neck. The tendons in her neck were just barely standing out against supple skin, offset by the gentle dip of her collarbones.

Suddenly she turned to face him, wiping off her hands on a cloth. She had a silly smile on her face as she pushed hair behind her ear, only to have it fall back in front of her eyes a moment later.

There was a streak of grime marking her forehead, beads of sweat streaking down her face because of the humid air.

"Look, I told you I had a shirt." She said, and sure, let her think that's where he was looking...at the picture.

"Yeah...Shirts don't lie..." He said, and it came out rougher than he would have liked.

Lexi laughed, and she shoved him gently to get back to work. She hadn't seemed to notice.

"Mine doesn't...I'm changing my oil, you need yours done?" Dean shook his head, trying to get some form of moisture back in his mouth by swallowing.

"I'm good...Did it just before Scottsbluff." She nodded and turned back to the Buick, again tucking her hair behind her ear. Dean was afforded a view of exactly how long her legs were, hugged in tight jeans, as he leaned against the fence post nearest.

"So, Sam get any sleep last night?" She was talking and working, nimble, well-trained fingers gliding over the machinery. Dean forced himself to look away.

"...Um, Couple of hours I think." Lexi sighed.

"Better than nothing I suppose. It's like finals all over again, except without the finals." Dean hummed his agreement, looking anywhere but the gentle curve of her hips, the ridges and valleys of her back...goddamn he was screwed.

-

"So, I was gonna hit the bar and talk to a few of the locals, I know Sam has enough books to keep even him occupied, did you want to come?" It was all part of Dean's not so subtle plan to spend as much time with her as possible.

Lexi shrugged, toweling off her hair. She caught his eye in the mirror and bit back a grin.

"How about I meet you there?" Dean shrugged.

"Fine by me." She watched him leave in the mirror, biting her lip as she saw the way his muscles rippled under the clingy shirt. Mentally shaking herself, she dug through the duffel she'd bothered to drag out of the car this time.

Lexi could've laughed when she saw exactly which one it was.

-

Half an hour later and Dean was about to call her, when the door to the bar squeaked open. He had raised his beer to take a swig, but it stayed suspended in the air, as his eyes grew wide.

It couldn't be...could it?

Her hair was mussed to perfection, curls spilling everywhere. Crystal blue eyes were lined in dark kohl, glossy lips full and pouty. As per normal, that fine chain was hidden beneath her top, although how it had the room with the skintight fabric was beyond him.

Then there was the other matter of mile long legs being showcased in all their glory. Short was the only way Dean could describe the skirt she was wearing, not that his vocabulary was alarmingly big at that point in time. Just to top it off; a line of halfway tanned skin before the top started.

Then Dean looked around the bar, and every single eye was trained on her. Exceedingly uncomfortable now, Dean shifted the stool closer to the bar, lifting a leg and placing it on the rung.

Lexi settled next to him, tossing her hair off one shoulder. And damn it she knew. That shit-eating grin was saying it all, she knew what she was doing.

"What's a girl got to do to get a drink around here?" She asked. Well, more like purred, and that wasn't helping his current situation any.

The bar tender snapped to attention and asked her what she'd like.

"Jack on the rocks." She smiled and Dean was pretty sure that guy would be going home with a black eye or two, the way the others were looking at him.

"H...Here." He stuttered out, sliding the glass in front of her.

"Thanks honey." She lifted the glass and took a sip, and suddenly Dean was fixated on the way her lips settled around the glass. Then his gaze shifted, and it was obscene the way the tendons of her neck just barely stood out, he was sure.

Just as she turned to look at him he pretended to be looking a ways beyond her, cursing himself for being so easily roped in to her tricks.

"I buy you a drink?" One of the more forthcoming men drawled. She gave him that smile; the one that was like you were sharing something no one else could see...the one she'd given Dean the first time they met...and answered.

"I've already got one...thanks for the offer though." Dean felt jealousy blaze up out of nowhere, and clenched a fist. Just because she was giving that redneck his smile--when did it become his, anyway? —Was no reason to start a fight.

"No problem sweetheart." If Dean didn't want to deck him before, the leer he was directing towards her well-proportioned chest would've set him right off. And that was crazy, because he couldn't be falling for his brother's best friend. _His_ friend. He couldn't be falling for anyone, with his time frame.

"But, maybe you could help be with something else..." One of her hands, with those elegant fingers all covered in rings again, strayed to pat the seat on the opposite side of her.

"Sure, anything you like." Dean noted the stress this guy—whoever he was—put on the word anything, and hoped to god she was smart enough not to take him up on his offer. Lexi grinned and ducked her head a little, leaning over towards the guy.

Dean bit his lip to keep from scowling. He knew exactly what Mr. anything you like was getting a view of right now, and what pissed Dean off was that he wasn't getting to look at the same thing.

"What do you know about local hauntings?" Dean guessed if it were anyone but Lexi asking this question the guy would have found it strange, but because it was her he just answered.

"Well..." Dean settled in for a night of this and grouchily ordered another beer.

-

"We've got enough to go after this thing, especially with Sam's research."

"That's cause you practically took your top off." Dean griped, but only because it was slightly painful to walk. Suddenly she turned to face him, gleeful look in her eye.

"You like that, Dean?" He shut his eyes and put a hand in the small of her back to get her out of the door.

"Out. Now." The look on her face was gleeful.

"Hey Dean?" He looked down at her, realized his hand was still on her back, and snatched it away to walk next to Lexi.

"Yeah?"

"Sam said to say we're going after the Ghost in two days, something about the time frame being better...or something." Dean sighed.

"Fine."


	5. Chapter 5

This is wrong, all wrong. It wasn't meant to happen this way.

Because she's a good hunter, and she knows how to do her job, that much Dean knows about her. This wasn't meant to happen. It's all he can think, over and over again.

Dean's holding her head off the filthy floor, yelling for Sam, and there's blood, so much blood. Covering his clothes and her clothes and the floor and matting her hair to her face.

And those eyes, those amazing eyes...they fluttered shut a little while back, only Dean doesn't remember properly because when she's not smiling or laughing or joking nothing's right. And all that he'd found out in the two seconds it took for the gashes to appear across her chest and neck, a couple on her cheek, deep red clashing with now overly pale skin.

"Dean? What..." Sam's eyes fall on Lexi's almost completely still form and he snaps into auto pilot, taking the Impala keys from Dean and tearing off his jacket to wrap around his friend.

Something in his brother is different, and Sam knows why immediately. Dean's never had anyone like her, the way she reads him like a book and he can't stop it. Sam's watched it happen, seen Dean looking at her and smiling when he thinks no one can see. Seen Lexi tease him so much that usually Dean would get so very frustrated, only because it's her he has a comeback for everything, one that makes her laugh so much her eyes sparkle, and that's when Dean starts to laugh. Sam knows that for what it is, it's Lexi's way of falling for someone, only she was never the one to make the first move, and Dean's in too deep to risk making it.

They're dancing around one another, and Sam's pretty sure neither of them knows it.

Lexi's shallow cough brings Sam back to the very real situation right now, the one where she's shaking and bleeding and _dying_ in his brother's arms, and every single second counts.

"Sam, we need to get to Bobby's. I'll take her car, you drive the Impala ahead and tell him we're coming." Dean's voice is controlled, too controlled, and Sam can see he's so close to losing that with every new shake that surges through their friend.

"Okay." Sam's only moved a step when he hears Dean speaking to her, whispering words they both know she's not hearing, but he's saying them anyway. Even though Sam's pretty sure she'd passed out, when Dean hefts her easily in his arms, he hears her cry out.

"It's okay baby, I've got you, It's just me, it's alright." Sam realizes he's stopped only when Dean yells at him to move. Then he's running.

Dean follows as fast as he can, careful not to jostle Lexi again. He's whispering to her all the while, telling her things he hadn't dared when there was the chance she'd sneer and turn away.

He can't ever see her doing that, of course; she's not that kind of person. But back then it seemed like such a real fear. Before there was the possibility he might not get to say them ever.

He told her the truth, told her that yes, he had been jealous of those dirty scumbag guys in the bar losing money just so they could watch her bend over the pool table. Told her that yes, he'd known her for just over two weeks, but also yes, he was pretty sure he loved her.

Told her that if she left him, it would only take a little longer for him to put together a box and see if that crossroads bitch had anything left to offer.

-

"Bobby! It's Sam, open up." Bobby hadn't heard that frantic note in Sam's voice for a while, and in all honesty he wondered what on earth it could be about this time, because he'd given them a job in Casper.

"Hold your horses, I'm coming. What's up?" Sam looked terrible, pale and fidgety, as he recounted the story to Bobby.

"And...Well, we couldn't really take her to the hospital because of the cops, and Dean didn't really leave much of a choice, he just...we had to come here."

Bobby nodded, already standing to get together a bunch of supplies.

"There's a couple of spare bedrooms upstairs. Get the one on the left ready." He said gruffly, knowing that Dean would be here almost any minute.

-

It pained Dean to lay her out in the back seat, alone, but he'd rather she was lying down than being slumped against a door.

Every few seconds he looked in the rear view. He'd done the best he could to stem the blood flow, but with limited means and even more limited time it was very temporary. And even with both his and Sam's jackets, not to mention a couple of over shirts, Lexi was still shaking. He could see it clear as day.

Finally he entered the relatively familiar roads surrounding Bobby's property, and Dean couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He pulled the Buick as close to the front door as he could get it, before shutting off the engine and pocketing the keys. It felt like less than a heartbeat for Dean to open the back door and gently slide Lexi out, cradling her in his arms and heading for the two figures silhouetted by the porch light.

"Second bedroom upstairs. There's cloths, warm water, bandages and anything else you could think of."

-

"She got beat up pretty bad...can you get that necklace out of the way Dean?" Obediently Dean slipped the chain from around Lexi's neck, careful not to get in Bobby's way. He turned it over in his hands.

"It's dog tags...Have you ever seen these before, Sam?" Sam glanced at Dean, before shaking his head.

"She always has them on though...I don't think I've ever seen them off her."

"Lieutenant Richard Graham Sarwood...Sarwood's her last name, right?" He was talking because he was trying to keep from throwing up. Dean had always had a strong gut; he had to. But seeing her so weak and vulnerable was playing on his mind, tricks about what if she didn't make it? Or what if he didn't actually get to say what he meant again?

"Holy...This is Alexis Sarwood?" Sam raised an eyebrow at Bobby's sudden outburst.

"Nobody calls her Alexis..." Bobby shook his head, inspecting his handiwork.

"You boys...You'd all better sit down for this."

"Because that always ends well..." Dean muttered, taking one last look at Lexi before sitting in the seat closest to her.

-

"Lieutenant Sarwood was a part time hunter, spent too much time in the military to go full time. Just the occasional hunt here and there. But something went wrong...I don't know all the details, but she was five when something took her mother. I don't think anyone knows what actually happened." Sam was quietly stunned, looking over his friend like she was a completely different person.

Sure, in college they'd been one another's confidantes, telling all the things that they wouldn't tell anyone else. But Sam had never gotten to the bottom of how she knew about the business. He just took it for granted after a while; stopped asking. He knew her mother had died when she was little, and she'd known Jessica since she was six, because their fathers were both stationed on the same base for a long time.

Sam also knew about Lexi's sister, whom she didn't speak to or about.

"She never...I never knew what happened to her mom." He said quietly. Bobby nodded.

"After that the Lieutenant ventured a little further. And a little further, until he got Dishonorably Discharged for a UA. He was hunting some Werewolves up in Glasgow, Montana. That man was a phenomenal hunter, back in the day. He got a little kill crazy sometimes though. Shot himself after being discharged." Dean's jaw dropped, and he made no attempt to hide it.

"What the hell? This was when?"

"95. She was 12. He sister, though, was 21. She took her in, looked after her. Then I don't know anything up until a couple of years ago, when she started taking jobs up and down the West Coast. Apparently she's not half bad."

Dean sat thinking, turning over things in his mind. The secrecy made sense now, he guessed. The sister, that was interesting. Lexi had never spoken about her, and the one time the Alexis thing had come up, he'd found it strange how vehemently she'd denied it. Hadn't thought too much of it because then they'd gone out, and she'd been happy again.

She was so like him; slipping masks on and off to put a game face on for anyone and everyone. He realized she'd let it down for him, of course, and for Sam, but in different ways.

Sam knew a lot about her and her past; she knew a lot about him. Lexi could get a laugh out of him, make Sam open up a little.

Dean knew a small bit about her past, but more about her present. He was a quick leaner when it came to people he spent time with, and body language tells you a lot about a person.

Plus he didn't think he'd ever let himself be so vulnerable around a person and leave it that way on purpose. Because there was something deeper there than aesthetics. Well, she was nice to look at, and he knew he was no monstrosity, but she could make him laugh like he hadn't done since dad died. Or before, he couldn't quite remember the last time he'd been so open, and comfortable enough about it to laugh.

"Dean? Dean, do you want a drink?" Sam looked concerned. "You went into your own world a bit." Dean tried to smile at his brother.

"No...I'll be fine."

"I'm gonna go bring in the stuff in the cars, make sure the Buick's still clean. She'll scream blue murder if she wakes up and finds mess in her car." Dean huffed out a laugh, but it was clear he was still thinking.

-

Dean turned the dog tags over in his hands, staring unseeingly at the shining metal. There was a breathy sigh from next to him and his head snapped up.

Lexi had curled over on her good side, facing him. Her head was pillowed on her hand, smiling slightly in her sleep. The dimple in the right hand corner of her mouth was showing, and he'd be surprised if she couldn't feel the affection rolling off him.

God he could get used to waking up and seeing that every morning.

It slammed into him with the force of a semi. He didn't have an every morning, and why was he even having to remind himself that? He had just over a month left until he was going to hell.

Suddenly it didn't make sense anymore. He'd done what he had for Sam, and he'd do it a million times over, but the regret was creeping in. The regret he'd managed to stave off by saying Sam would be fine; he'd live. Managed to stave it off by saying there wasn't that many people he'd be leaving behind, so it was okay.

But then she had to go and make all the difference, be that one more person to push him until he couldn't see the line any more.

Lexi knew him, better than anyone but Sam. But that didn't change the fact that he had a month to live.

Not an every morning.

Not a 'for the rest of our lives'.

He had 'for the rest of my life'.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N-Thanks for the reviews guys, I think I'll be replying on here from now on, because...well, I have no time for anything but bulk uploading and then posting every few days. Price I pay for a trip to Europe, I S'pose.  
Oh, and they really do make me try and update faster...-wink wink-

Lexi's eyes fluttered open, and the first thing she saw was Dean. He was looking over at the window now spilling soft golden sunlight into the room. Suddenly he stood, walking over to the window and clutching the sill in a white knuckled grip.

When she saw the tear streaking down his face though, the smile beginning to form fell from her face.

"Dean? What's wrong?" He composed himself before turning around.

"Nothing, nothing...You're awake, that's good. How do you feel?" He was acting weird, so Lexi cocked an eyebrow at him.

"...A...A little sore, but fine. Dean...what's wrong?" She went to sit up and winced a little. He was there in an instant, holding her while he straightened the pillows so she could sit up. His long fingers curled gently around her bicep, the other arm reaching around and pressing gently against her back. But he was clearly jumpy, and she couldn't tell whether it was because of her or because of whatever he'd been thinking as he stared out the window.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong, I promise. I'm just...I'm glad you're okay." He'd pulled back a little way, but his hand was still on her arm, and he was looking into her eyes intensely.

Lexi knew he was lying.

"Don't lie." Her own long fingers came up to graze his unkempt hair where it was falling onto his forehead. The backs of her fingers trailed over his temple, and he had to remind himself to breathe.

Shaking his head, he reached up and pulled her hand away, wrapping his hand around hers. It happened so fast that he couldn't remember who started it, only that her lips were soft against his, barely there pressure intense and wreaking havoc with his already shot nerves.

He pulled away, eyes closed, still shaking his head.

"I...We can't..." Lexi's soft hand was on his head again, combing through his hair.

"I remember, Dean. I could hear you. You want this as much as I do."

"I can't..." His breath caught a little.

"Why not?" She asked softly, watching with concern the way his emotions were playing out on his face.

"Because I have...It's not fair, for you or me."

"Because of the deal?" He couldn't force words through the lump in his throat, so Dean just nodded. Then her grip tightened in his hair and forced him to look in her eyes.

"What..."

"I told you I'd do something about that. I promised Sam, and even if you didn't hear, I promised you too. I'm not going to let this go, Dean. I haven't..." She stopped talking suddenly, her hand reaching for her neck. "Where's my necklace?" Panic was written across her face as Lexi looked around wildly.

"It's...it's here." He reached up onto the table and grabbed the chain from where he'd left it, the tags clicking together. She reached for it desperately, only to be falling back on the pillows moments later with stars in her eyes.

Dean reached for her immediately, steadying her and catching just another brief moment with her in his arms.

"It's okay, its here...I'm here." He fastened it around her neck, staying for too long for the resulting hug to be an accident. Then he realized she wasn't hugging back. In fact, she was completely stiff. "Lexi? What is it?"

"Why wasn't it on? Why did you take it off?" He couldn't believe she was getting worked up over a necklace.

"It...It was in the way when we were fixing you up...I didn't..."

"I never take them off." Her voice was hushed, and now she refused to meet his eyes. His cool hand cupped her cheek.

"I...I'm sorry...but Bobby needed it out the way..."

"Bobby?"

"Yeah...I figured we couldn't go to the hospital because of the cops, and it was close. He..." Dean hesitated, debating whether to be truthful or not. "He told us about you." If he was hoping his honesty would placate her, he was wrong.

"Get out." He blinked. Now that he knew the feelings he had weren't one sided, this was coming from left field.

"What?"

"Go away, Dean. I don't want to deal with this now." She turned over onto her side again and promptly shut her eyes.

-

She wasn't asleep, not even close to it.

Not after she pushed Dean away so forcefully that she wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to talk to her again.

And what made it worse was that that upset her more than anything else did.

-

It took four days, but eventually Dean got sick of not talking to her, so he wandered upstairs, contemplating whether or not to leave Sam a note saying it had been nice knowing him, and to look after the Impala when she killed him.

He didn't bother knocking, just turned the knob and opened the door. To his disappointment, she was asleep. So he slumped in the chair next to the bed and just looked at her.

He already regretted the time they'd spent dancing around one another, working on the time frame he was. And even if everything they'd confessed came to nothing, he had the satisfaction of knowing she felt the same way. Not that that counted for much when all he wanted to do was feel her lips against his again, but it was better than nothing.

With this unexplored territory (for Dean, anyway) came a strange pull in his stomach when he remembered the times they'd laughed, when he remembered the stolen touches that he hadn't even recognized for what they were at the time; just another way to be close to her. And when he looked at her.

Because, they may not have been speaking, but he'd seen her. He'd go and check on her when he couldn't sleep, only to find that as soon as he fell back into the bed he'd claimed as his he'd drift away almost before his head hit the pillow. Even once he'd been down in the yard, checking over the Impala, and he'd glanced up to her window and seen her looking out over the woods. Strictly speaking, she was confined to her bed, but every once in a while he'd hear her moving around the room, and after that he guessed it was to look out over the sunny day and pretend she was a part of it.

-

She was awake, only closing her eyes because it was easier.

He knew; Dean knew about her, and for gods sakes he wasn't meant to. Sam didn't even know. Sam who was still her best friend even after years.

Dean wasn't meant to know because that was the past, because it hurt her to even think about it, and there were more important things to worry about than a sister she denied she had, who always called her by her full name, and a father who'd left her all because he'd lost a life that was only half true anyway.

It wasn't fair that they always came back to haunt her, stop the guy she thought she might possibly love from looking at her in the same way. She couldn't stand pity. So much of it after her mother and after the father who'd killed himself and left her only the necklace with his dog tags on it. But there was no one to give it after her sister had made her leave. Leave the only semblance of family she had left, because Lexi was too involved in Dad's other life; his hunting life.

_I don't want you here_

The words came back with a vengeance, abusing her ears and hurting her chest as if there was something ironclad constricting it.

And god, it wasn't fair that this still hurt after so long, after years. That even thinking about Jennie, and Michael and even little David still made tears prick her eyes with their ice-cold needles.

-

Dean snapped out of his thoughts as soon as the first choked sob escaped from her lips. He hadn't realized she'd woken up, but there'd probably been nothing to notice.

"Lexi? Lexi what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" He held her gently by the shoulders, dragging her into a sitting position. She just shook her head, pulling him closer and holding on like her life depended on it, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed, wet tears falling against his neck. He shifted onto the bed, hugging her closer and wondering whether this was about what he knew, didn't know, or should know.

"You didn't do anything, it's okay." He shushed her, feeling the sobs wracking her thin frame.

"I...I can't believe...I got so worked up over a necklace, I'm sorry." He pulled away a little, trying to look her in the eye.

"If it was all I had left of my dad, I'd hold onto it too." He reassured her, wanting more than anything to kiss away the tears still trickling down her cheeks, wanting to hold her until it didn't matter anymore.

Eventually she pulled away and wiped at her eyes.

"I didn't...I'm sorry." Dean shrugged, moving her hair away from her eyes. She leaned into his touch, drawing in a shuddering breath.

"It's fine." His eyes were on her lips like he was transfixed, and he didn't try to stop himself from leaning forward after tilting her head so he could kiss her properly.

One of her hands curled around the side of his head, running through his kitten soft hair.

"Dean..." She breathed his name softly, as if it were the something keeping her afloat through all the conflicting emotions.

"Sh..." She started to lean backwards, pulling him half on top of her, and never once breaking the kiss.

When they did pull apart for air, she was just watching him try and collect himself, because kissing had never done this to him; sent electric sparks through his body and have his lips tingling.

And that steady pull in his gut was stronger than ever, and suddenly he couldn't care if it was right or easy to do this with only just over a month left, he just wanted to spend as much of it with her as he could.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N-See! I told you it made me update faster (or try to...) anyway! On with the story!

"Did you put me in the bedroom upstairs just so that I wouldn't be able to come down without one of you knowing?" Lexi complained to Dean for what could have been the millionth time. He grinned, shuffling subtly out of her reach.

"It worked, didn't it?" She almost had the reach to swat at him, but his movement had worked, and she came up a couple of inches short.

"It's not fair! I've been stuck in here a week now, I'm going crazy." She folded her arms and huffed, halfway glare on her face.

"Okay, how about I take you out and you can sit on the porch while I touch up the Impala?" She looked like she was thinking about it.

"Do my car too and I promise I won't try and get down by myself." He laughed and picked her up. "Dean...I can walk a little bit, you don't have to carry me down there."

"I want to." She tried to glare at the chivalrous nature of it all, but he was grinning like an idiot, and he just had to know that she wouldn't be able to keep a straight face.

-

When they got downstairs—not without much laughing—Sam was leafing through one of Bobby's big old books.

"Hey Sam." Lexi waved. He looked up and almost laughed.

"How did you get her to agree to you carrying her?" He asked Dean.

"Well, How else was she getting down? And who in their right mind could turn that down?" He finished self-righteously. Lexi squirmed a little.

"How I fit in the bed with you and your ego I'll never know. I wanna walk a bit, put me down." He relented and put her gently on the floor, watching like a hawk in case she even remotely looked like tiring. Her injuries had been worse than any one of them had expected, hence the week of bed rest and not walking much.

She looked over Sam's shoulder until he swatted at her head.

"That's so annoying." He complained, and she just grinned. "You know I hate that!" She actually laughed at that.

"I do, that's why I'm doing it. And I'm allowed to be annoying, You've kept me locked in a room for a week." She patted him on the arm and stretched, wincing slightly when it pulled on her stitches. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Dean moving, and held up a hand.

"I'm fine, It just snagged a little, that's all. Stop jumping at everything."

"I can't help it. You wanna go outside now?" She thought for a second.

"I'll follow you out, let me annoy Sam a little more." Dean shook his head, laughing, and walked out the door. Like he was going to stop her from annoying his little brother...Sam looked expectantly up at her.

"Spit it out." She sighed, exasperated, and handed him a web address.

"I need you to check this site out for me. I can't do it with him hovering."

"What is it?" Sam inspected the neat scrawl that he recognized as hers.

"It's got a bunch of dissolving rituals on it, and I've met the guy who runs it; they're all legit."

"Dissolving as in, demonic deal dissolving?" She nodded, looking towards the door.

"Just check it out for me. If you find anything let me know."

"You know he won't be happy if he finds out." Lexi shrugged.

"I don't care, I promised both of you. And I don't give a crap if I have to super glue Goofer dust to the floor in a circle around the three of us, I'm not letting him go to hell."

-

Lexi sat on the porch swing, the cool air a refreshing contrast to her room. Twilight was imminent on the horizon, giving everything a surreal glow. Dean was tinkering, the two muscle cars side by side.

She just watched, wondering why a month seemed like no time at all. It wasn't fair, he'd been right about that, and if only Sam had called her sooner, but Lexi had learned long ago that dwelling on 'if only' was a surefire way to get upset.

She lost track of how long she watched, the darkness slowly creeping in around them, the sky alight with stars. Then she became aware that he was speaking to her.

"What?" Dean gestured for her to come.

"Come over here." Obediently she stood up, only a little shaky, and walked over to where he was standing in front of the Impala.

Then Dean pulled himself up onto the hood, and held out a hand for her to climb on herself. Lexi took it and settled in between his legs, his hands clasped loosely around her middle, covered by her own.

His breath was stirring her hair, soft and sweet as he gazed around them. Her back was pressed comfortably against his chest, her arms resting on top of his. He pressed a kiss gently on the top of her head. Lexi's response was to snuggle closer into his warmth.

"This is nice." She breathed, as if afraid to attract anyone else out to see the dark they were sharing like a secret.

"Look." Dean tilted his own head up and stared at the myriad of stars, hers following suit a few seconds later.

"There's so many..." Suddenly, unexplainably, a wave of sadness fell over her. They were so small, insignificant, why should either of them matter enough to be saved? She wasn't stupid; she knew if she couldn't keep her promise, and he died, part of her would go with him.

And that wasn't right, because they'd wasted a whole, stupid month tiptoeing around one another and just being friendly. Now they had this, and in another month it could be gone.

"You okay?" Something in her body must have alerted him to the fact that, as nice as this was, she wasn't happy. She tried to nod, tried to tell him...but who was she kidding?

Lexi turned halfway in his arms, until she could feel his chest against her cheek, his arms fully around her.

"I'm going to save you Dean. If only because I've never had anyone like you before; I'm going to save you." She whispered, and then leaned up to take his lips in an earnest kiss. If he had any doubt she loved him before then, it was all erased in that instant.

-

Lexi was half-asleep when Sam appeared in the doorway, seemingly content to look in and see the two most important people in his life happy. God knows he needed the reassurance.

Careful not to wake Dean, she pushed the covers off and slipped out, pulling the door to behind her.

"What's up?" She asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"...Nothing...I was just...I couldn't sleep, and I..." Lexi rolled her eyes.

"You're such a liar, Sam. It's because there's a month left." He made an attempt to smile, but it was twisted to look like a grimace.

"I guess...I guess I should stop even trying to lie to you, huh? I should know better by now." She took his hand and led him away from the room, downstairs.

"Or you know, get better at it." She teased lightly. He huffed out a laugh and sank into the sofa, running a weary hand over his face as he sighed. Lexi perched on the arm of the chair, yawning a little.

"Yeah...Yeah, I dunno...I just...God I'm tired." They both knew he wasn't talking about sleep deprived tired. He was _tired_.

"S'This a private party? Or can anyone join?" Dean asked around a yawn, settling on the sofa next to Lexi. She ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to wake you." He shrugged, leaning his head against her thigh.

"I wasn't asleep properly anyway."

"Do you three ever actually sleep? Or just sit around all night and talk about the meaning of life?" Bobby asked, bringing in a round of beers.

"Sorry Bobby..." The older man shook his head.

"It's not a problem, I was just curious, is all." Dean uncapped his drink and took a long pull, leaning back against Lexi when he was done. Sam stared at the bottle for a few seconds before twisting the lid off.

"It tastes so much better when it's not burning your mouth..." Sam muttered, and Dean laughed a little.

"Good to know." Bobby looked over at Lexi, who had only just taken a sip.

"How you feeling?" She gave him a small smile.

"Fine thanks. A little tired, but it is one in the morning." Sam looked up at her, smile playing around his lips.

"It's like college all over again." She grinned.

"I said one in the morning, not three." He laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N-So, It's been a couple days, new Supernatural tomorrow morning--last one for a couple of months -sob-. Anyone who cares, I am working on a one-shot follow up to the last chapter of my Dean and Bela series. I wasn't gonna, but then I heard this song, and it just couldn't be left alone. Stay tuned :D  
Oh, shit, sex...towards the middle...just to give you warning...But this is kind of a pivotal chapter, so I wouldn't recomend skipping it.

Dean looked over at Lexi, chewing over and over the phone call he'd just received in his head, debating whether to go through with what he'd planned or not.

"Hey um..." He settled behind her, and she leaned back against him. "I was wondering; did you want to maybe go somewhere?" She twisted a little to look at him.

"Like where?" He shrugged, even though he knew exactly where he wanted to go.

"I dunno. Just anywhere. Sam's pretty happy to be shacked up here for the next while, so you and me could just go somewhere."

"Like a road trip?"

"Sort of." He smirked. "I'll let you drive the Impala a bit." He offered. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why do you think that...that's...going to get...me to come?" She was watching the keys with a halfway longing look on her face. He raised an eyebrow and dangled the keys in front of her. "Jerk..." She muttered, although she did grab them.

-

"So, where are you going?" Sam asked. Lexi shrugged, shoving a few things into her bag.

"He didn't say...I think he's just getting restless." Sam looked a little worried.

"So you're just going to go?" She turned around, and in an instant guessed what his problem was.

"I'll make sure we're back before then. And I'll keep looking, I promise." Sam sighed.

"I know you will...You'll call?" She grinned a little and shoved him.

"Course dad, I know you don't like me hanging around with boys." He laughed a little and wrapped her in a hug, which she returned. "Don't worry about it Sammy, we'll all be fine."

-

Dean was driving, one arm over her shoulders, when she asked him to pull over in the dim twilight.

"Why?" He whined. She didn't know it, but he had a schedule to keep. If everything went the way he wanted, she wouldn't know until she couldn't back out of it.

Then she turned and grinned so wolfishly at him it could have been a leer. They were in a little side road, completely out of view of the highway. Not that anyone could see much in the dusk anyway.

Lexi bent over and put her lips near his ear.

"Stop whining and get in the back...or if you'd rather, we could get out, and you can take me over the hood." She swung one long leg over his lap until she was straddling him, and he was suddenly so hard it was painful.

"How about right here?" He managed to gasp out, because she was rocking her hips against his, and how was it even humanely possible that that felt so good?

She shook her head, pressing her lips hard against his.

"You've got two choices, the backseat or outside." She whispered against them. He bucked up against her, erection pressing nicely against her ass.

"Your choice." He said, and she pulled away, opening the driver's side door and climbing out. He watched her go, pupils blown wide. In the dim light he could make out her form settling against the hood, and then he heard her.

'You'd better hurry up, else I'll start without you." He was out of the car so quickly he barely registered it had happened. Dean let out a breathy moan when he saw her; blue top pulled down so he could see her black bra. Her fingers slipped down and undid the three buttons holding her jeans closed, exposing her panties.

"Son of a..." Dean got as close to her as he could, as quick as he could. One of his hands tilted her head back so he could suck on her neck hungrily. She moaned low in her throat, sending vibrations through his lips. Dean's hands slipped below the waistband of her jeans, gliding around to cup her ass. He lifted her up and sat her on the hood, pulling her jeans off along with her boots.

"Dean." She said his name once before slipping her hands underneath his shirt to trail up his sides, before they came back down and slipped into his jeans, pushing them down so Dean could kick them off along with his boots. He couldn't withhold the gasp, and he pushed against her harder. Long legs wrapped around his waist.

He kissed his way back to her lips again and slipped his tongue inside. He'd never get tired of the moment when she let her tongue stroke along his, letting him imagine a great number of things.

She pushed his shirt off and over his head, just as he got hers over her shoulders, and was working the clasp of her bra undone. She arched her back a little to allow him better access.

He pulled away long enough to look into her eyes, then threaded his fingers with hers, pushing her arms over her head and into the cold metal of the Impala. Dean leaned over her, feeling electricity crackle through his body at just the feel of her bare skin skimming along his own.

"You're gonna kill me, hurry up." She groaned as he continued to grind against her and suck on her neck. He laughed breathlessly and slid one hand off hers to flow over her breasts, pulling her nipples into even tighter erection.

Dean stretched out over Lexi, keeping her hands pressed above her head as he circled a finger around her clit. She ground against his hand, moaning almost desperately. He could feel her breathing grow more ragged against his cheek and lips before he pulled his hand away. She groaned at the loss of contact.

"I'll get you there, don't worry." He purred into her ear, parting her and trailing his fingers through her wet folds. Dean pushed one finger teasingly into her, eyes almost rolling back as he imagined that around his dick.

But he was only human, and he could feel her wetness clutching at him as he continued to stretch her. His mouth dropped down to nip over her collarbones, coaxing a mewling sound from her lips that only made him shiver in anticipation.

Finally he slid inside her, canting his hips just right so that she was panting by the time he was flush up against her body.

"Fuck..." Moan. "Dean." Pant. "Move." Experimentally he slid out a little way and thrust back in. Lexi used her forehead to nudge his head up to kiss him, because one of his hands was still holding hers up against the hood.

Dean took that as his green light and began to thrust in earnest, gasping when she clenched around him and groaned her release into his mouth. He faltered when the exquisite pressure grew that little bit more intense and his head fell forward onto her shoulder, mouthing wetly at her neck as he came.

He was trembling as her arms slid down his own to hold him, just a little looser without the heat of arousal involved. She was sitting up now, halfway panting against the short hairs on top of his head,

Suddenly Lexi began to laugh, and Dean looked at her blearily, still a little cross-eyed from the force of his release.

"What?" He rumbled, voice deep and sex filled. Lexi turned him around, keeping her arms draped over his shoulders.

"Look." Dean looked around, before beginning to laugh himself; their clothing was strewn around them. In their lust filled haze neither had thought much about anything but being as close as was possible.

Coincidentally, that meant that it was a mess. But she was laughing still, and somehow he couldn't bring himself not to.

-

"This is nice...really nice." Lexi dropped her bag and flopped onto the bed, closing her eyes.

Dean followed her in and saw that it was, indeed, nice. There was a welcoming king sized bed, a TV he was sure he could amuse himself with for a while, and a bathroom that actually looked like it was clean. With a Jacuzzi.

"Hell yes..."

"How did you get this?' Dean smiled at Lexi, stretching out next to her on the bed.

"I pulled a few strings with an old friend I helped out a couple of years back." She giggled and ran a hand through his hair, pulling him up for a soft kiss.

"It's awesome. But why Chicago?" She asked. Dean did his best to look nonchalant, and prayed that just this once she wouldn't see though it.

"Thought it'd be nice." He almost held his breath, but then she just smiled and closed her eyes again.

"It is." He shifted.

"I'm going to run a bath..." He couldn't keep the suggestion out of his statement, and her eyes snapped open immediately.

"Sounds good." She practically purred it, and Dean didn't think he'd ever moved so fast in his life.

-

"So, where are we going now?" They were driving around the city when she asked. Dean shifted a little in his seat and turned down a quiet street.

"I have...There's something I wanted to show you." She made a curious noise at him, but Lexi was lost in thought. She knew this street, only...

Dean stopped the car outside a big townhouse, the rumble from the engine dying as he switched off the car. She turned in her seat to look at him, eyes wide in her face.

"You...Why would...How?" He reached for her hand, feeling her tense underneath him, but she didn't pull away, so he stayed.

"Don't get angry. Please." He chewed his lip a little. "Listen; I know it hurts that Jennie did what she did. It was low. But you know I hate to see anyone lose family when that's the only thing that keeps us going sometimes."

"I didn't lose her Dean, She told me to get lost. She doesn't want me." Her voice was only a hoarse whisper.

"Lexi, I'm asking you to do this for me. At least talk to her." He halfway begged

"Why would I do this for you? Why?" She looked either outraged or scared. Dean couldn't decide which was worse.

"Because, the only thing you'll have after I'm gone is Sam. And when there are others you could have, that's not enough. I want to see you be able to talk about her and not get so upset it hurts me. I want to..." He broke off, realizing how loud his voice had gotten in the close confines of the car. "I want to know that you've got other people to look after you." Dean finished quietly.

Lexi just stared at the old house, stunned. Finally she turned to him.

"Fuck you." She said softly, before wrenching the door open and slamming it shut behind her.

"Lexi wait!" He yelled after her, stepping out of the car himself.

"Get lost, Dean. If you really love me, why would you want me to go through that again?" She was walking away fast, so he jogged to catch up with her, finally grabbing her shoulders and turning her around.

She tried to push him away, palms flat against his chest, and he realized there were tears falling thick and fast from those blue eyes again. Only he wouldn't let her go.

"Listen to me, Listen, to me." He said, still holding onto her shoulders.

"I don't want to! Why would...Why would you..." She squirmed, still trying to get away.

"Lexi, for gods sakes, will you stop, please?" He pulled her closer so she was wedged between his chest and arms. Resting his cheek on top of her head, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms, trying to calm her down.

"Dean, do you not get that she hurt me? Worse than anyone, worse than when Dad killed himself and left me with someone who never understood me, because she said it to my face. She stood in front of me and said 'you're dangerous to me and my family, I don't want you here'." She wasn't fighting him any more, just crying into his chest. "Eight years, Dean. Eight years since she said that. Since she practically kicked me out onto the street and didn't even say have a nice life. Just a 'get the fuck away from me'."

"I get that she hurt you, I do, but you know what it's like to lose your family. She's all you have. I regret that I never got the chance to tell my dad how much he meant, I regret that it took so long for me to tell you. Don't lose that with her."

"I already did. I lost that the moment she told me to go."

"Please." It was his last ditch attempt.

"Let me..." She ran a hand through her hair. "Let me think about it." That was more than he'd hoped for.

Dean leaned down to put his forehead on hers, nosing her head up until he could place a gentle kiss on her lips. He could feel her holding back a bit, so his arm snaked around her back and pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you before." He said quietly, fixing butterfly kisses up and down her jaw, before finally making his way back to her lips.

"You just...it shocked me a little, is all..." All of Lexi's resolve to stay angry with Dean was beginning to succumb to the gentle nature of his kisses and the way he was saying sorry...even if she knew he still thought he was doing the right thing.


	9. Chapter 9

"So, what did you want to see me for...Dean, was it?" He nodded curtly, gazing around the neat kitchen. Seriously, what the fuck was he thinking? It was one in the morning...The only conclusion he could draw was that he was losing it.

"I uh...Okay, this might sound a bit strange, but I need you to promise me you'll hear me out before you say anything." She looked at him strangely.

"That sounds vaguely ominous..."

"Just...please?" She sighed, and then ran a hand through honey blonde hair.

"Okay. But I not too long." He took that as his cue to begin, and sucked in a deep breath.

"So, two months ago I met this girl. And I'm pretty sure I love her. Only, a couple of weeks ago, I found out about her past. It doesn't matter to me, because mine's a lot like hers, and it doesn't change how I feel about her. But...and she doesn't know I'm here, speaking with you...but there's still things from it that upset her. Like..." He swallowed...moment of truth. "Like the way her sister won't speak to her."

If Dean was expecting Jennie to sit calmly and talk about Lexi, he was very wrong. Good thing he hadn't been, then.

"Who...Who are you?"

"I'm Lexi's friend."

"And you think you can come here after almost eight years and drag her up again?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper; she was angry.

"I just..." Dean sighed. "I'm not going to be around much longer. Just over three weeks, actually. And her and my brother, they think they can fix it, but they probably can't. And...Well, see family's important. And I know that she'll have him when I'm gone, but I know she misses you. And you're all she's got left."

Jennie sat still, looking a little shocked. Eventually she sighed, wondering when it became commonplace for her estranged sister's boyfriend to be sitting in her kitchen at one in the morning.

"I...She wouldn't want to see me." Dean leaned forwards a little, stopping just short of grabbing the older woman's hand.

"Only because she thinks you don't want to see her...Please." She looked into his earnest green eyes.

"I didn't."

"Didn't?" He was trying so hard not to get his hopes up.

"I mean...Lately, I've been thinking...thinking about her, about what I said...and I...I kind of...I miss her. But I was thinking about my family, my baby. I didn't...God it was selfish, but I didn't want to have to worry about a wayward little sister too."

"She misses you too. I know." Jennie sighed heavily.

"You can try, Dean. But she won't come."

"She graduated college you know. Psychology major." Dean was looking at the floor as he spoke.

"Well, that honestly doesn't surprise me." She said it with a slight smirk, before it fell off her face. "She just won't."

"Yeah...she did flip out a little just seeing the house..." Dean admitted.

"Exactly..." He shook his head to silence her.

"I'll try. I promise." Jennie nodded, before shifting uneasily.

"I...I'd better go...Michael will...he worries...bye, Dean."

-

Dean let himself into the room, closing the door behind him.

Lexi was sleeping peacefully, seemingly unaware that he'd been talking with her sister. He slipped into a pair of pajamas and settled on his stomach next to her, an arm draped over her shoulders.

His head was resting neatly in the crook of her neck when he fell asleep, her hair falling on his cheek.

-

The ringing of her cell phone broke through Lexi's restless slumber. Dean was half draped across her back, so she tried not to wake him as she reached for it.

"Hello?"

"Lexi, I found something." She blinked owlishly.

"What? Sam, is this you?"

"Yeah, who else? I found something." Suddenly Lexi stood up, pulling one of Dean's shirts tighter around herself as she paced the room.

"Really? Talk to me."

"I was on that site you gave me, then I called the guy who ran it."

"You spoke to Adam?"

"Yeah...I had him email me the rituals he didn't put on the page. It's some pretty powerful stuff, but I found one I think might work." Lexi looked back at Dean, who was still sprawled out sleeping, before settling on the window seat.

"Might? Sam, if you want us back there ahead of schedule, I'm gonna need a bit more than might." She pulled her legs up next to her, looking out over the terrace. Lexi switched the phone to her other ear and pulled on a strand of her hair.

"Well..." He sounded frustrated. "Can you get to a computer?"

"Yeah, there's an Internet cafe down the street."

"Get there as soon as you can, I'm forwarding you an email."

"Sam, I can't get away for that long, he's..."

"You have to." Sam's tone brooked no arguing.

"It's not..." The click of Sam hanging up rang in her ear. "That simple." She spoke to the dial tone. She sighed.

Lexi turned back around to look at Dean, somehow still sleeping peacefully. One last look out at the terrace, and she made up her mind.

Ten minutes later she was dressed and closing the door quietly behind her.

-

She was losing it. That was all she could think. It was the only way she could explain standing outside Jennie's doorstep at seven in the morning, ringing the doorbell. No, standing on Jennie's doorstep period.

"Just a second." Even the sound of her voice had Lexi forcing a swallow through a lump in her throat. She heard what must have been her nephew's voice in the background, along with the sound of her sister's footsteps on the floorboards.

Then Jennie opened the door, and simply stood gaping for a moment, until her son managed to worm his way around her legs.

"Alexis..." Lexi tried not to cringe.

"Mommy, Is that Auntie Lexi?"

"David, go and help you daddy with breakfast."

"But..."

"David, now." The tone of her voice, so cool and effortlessly commanding, had Lexi suppressing a flinch. It had been used so much on her.

"I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here. I'll just..." Lexi made as if to turn around, until a gentle hand on her arm stopped her.

"Wait, don't...I think we need to...to talk."

"You...You want to?" Lexi couldn't keep the hesitancy from her voice. Jennie smiled for a second, before she picked up her little sister's hand.

"Sure. Come in and we'll have coffee." Jennie led her through to the kitchen, and Lexi looked around in wonder. The place was exactly as she remembered, give or take a few photographs. She realized with a start that one of her still hung in its place with the others.

"David, don't do that or you'll spill it." Michael was instructing his son in the finer points of pouring orange juice when they walked in. Far from being surprised at seeing his long lost sister in law, he just smiled widely at her.

"Michael honey, could you pour another cup of coffee? Sit down, please." Lexi sat back in one of the seats, looking around the kitchen. She could see the ring from endless coffee's being placed on the counter by the window without a coaster. It had been her favorite spot.

"I um...I wasn't going to...I only..." She couldn't find words, but to her surprise, Jennie just smiled.

"I had a visit last night from a friend of yours." Now Lexi just looked startled.

"Dean came to see you? I'm so sorry, I had no..."

"He said you didn't know, it's okay. He seems like a nice guy." Lexi couldn't help but laugh as she accepted the coffee Michael set in front of her, before scooping up his son so the two women could talk in relative quiet.

"He'd laugh if he heard you say that." Jennie gave Lexi a barely noticeable once over.

"He's not?"

"Oh no, no. It's just that...Well, he wouldn't exactly be your first choice to take home and meet the family."

"He's a hunter." Jennie couldn't keep the disappointment form her voice. A small part of her had been hoping Lexi had forgotten that life, left behind it's dangers. Lexi toyed with the handle of the coffee mug, before deciding honest was the best policy here.

"Yeah. Same with his brother, Sam, who I met in college. But I didn't...Jen, I didn't come here to argue the pros and cons of that life. I know you don't like it, and for good reason. I came here..." She paused. What had she come here for? For Dean, to make him happy? Or because she actually wanted to see her sister?

"It's fine. So long as...so long as you're okay. Dean said you graduated college." Jennie changed the subject.

"Yep...Psychology. Listen, Jen...I don't really...I don't really know why I'm here...I wish I could say it was purely because I missed you, but...I can't. I mean, I did...I do. But that's not the only reason." Jennie nodded her understanding.

"I'm glad you're being honest with me, really. And I'm...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for so many things. I shouldn't have done what I did. It was selfish, and I had no right to just tell you to leave like that."

"No...No, you were looking out for your family."

"You are my family, Lexi. And I'm sorry I forgot that just because you reminded me so much of Dad. I'm just...I'm sorry." Lexi sniffed, staring into the coffee mug. Jen had called her Lexi for the first time in over ten years...

"Me too. I shouldn't...I shouldn't have lorded it over you like I did. I shouldn't have made you feel so guilty for so long. I just...I didn't appreciate...anything, really." Tears glistening in her eyes, Jennie lay a hand on Lexi's arm until the younger woman looked up.

"Its called being young. I'm really..." Jennie blinked away tears. "I'm really glad you came, you know?" Lexi scrubbed at her eyes and smiled.

"Me too...Even if part of it was because of Dean." Jennie watched her sister closely, wondering how to broach this subject.

"Dean said...he said he didn't have much time left." Lexi shook her head; this was enough without having to think about that as well.

"I don't...I'll explain later, okay?" Jennie nodded and squeezed Lexi's arm for a second.

"Let me know if there's anything I can do, okay?" Lexi suddenly sat straight up, inspiration on her face.

"There is, actually. Can I use your computer?" Jennie raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, but I was talking about...doctors, or something." Lexi stood up, grin on her face.

"Trust me, the computer will help a whole lot more than doctors ever will."

-

The next time Lexi saw Dean, it was nine-o clock and he looked frantic.

She punched him in the arm, hard.

"What the hell was that for? And where have you been? I've been..." Dean trailed away, though he wasn't angry, that much she knew.

"I scare you Dean?" He huffed and turned away from her. She slid her hands around his sides and rested her head in between his shoulder blades.

"I'm sorry baby...but you were intending for me to talk to Jennie, weren't you?" He turned around so quickly it almost set her off balance, until he steadied her. It only took one look, and the two of them burst out laughing.

"So you talked to her? How did it go?" He asked when the laughter had subsided.

"She screamed and threw me out the house again." He looked mortified. "Just kidding. Although I was ready to kill you when I found out about your little one in the morning intervention."

"Worked didn't it?"


	10. Chapter 10

A/N--angst angst angst angst...just warning -evil laugh-

She felt like a bad kid trying to steal cookies from the cookie jar, even if she was sitting right next to him as she translated the Latin ritual Sam had found a week ago. And in the back of her mind, the whole time, that annoying little voice was telling her there were two weeks left.

"You're no fun, what're you reading?" Dean, even as he was driving, reached over and pulled the papers from her grasp. He scanned them as best he could while driving one handed, not that there was ever much traffic on the roads getting close to Bobby's.

"Translating, actually." Lexi said, waiting for the reprimand she knew was coming.

"Lexi...Why are you still doing this?" He asked with a sigh.

"I promised." Her voice was hushed, even as he put the papers down with a harsh snap that reverberated through the car and made her jump a little.

"You won't leave this because of a promise you won't be able to fucking keep? Lex, I asked you to stop."

"How do you know I can't keep it? Sam and I found something that might work."

"No! Just don't do this! Enjoy what we have left, don't waste your time and get your hopes up!" She turned to him, one leg up on the seat.

"I'm not going to let this go! No, shut up and listen to me! It's my, turn. You don't get to tell me that I have to watch you go. You also don't get to tell me that I'm wasting my time. I'm not, letting, this, go. I love you. Why don't you understand that, Dean? Why don't you understand that it would kill me to let you die?"

The silence in between them was pressing, and she felt like her chest was going to burst open. It was all she could do to bite her lip and keep her jaw in check.

"...I love you too. I just...I can't lose either of you because you're trying to save me. I won't." By now they'd pulled into Bobby's place and Dean had shut the Impala off, staring down at the floor. Lexi shifted closer to him, turning his head to look at her earnest blue eyes, crystalline even in the dim light provided by the setting sun.

"And we won't lose you." She told him.

Lexi didn't know what she'd been expecting. Yet another protest? A curt nod?

It certainly wasn't being pulled even closer, and his head being buried in her neck and shoulder. Dean's nose was pressing against her neck, and she could feel him completely giving up on composure.

"...I'm scared."

-

Lexi gave up on sleep at around one thirty and pulled the crumpled pages from her bag, heading downstairs so she wouldn't wake Dean.

"Thought you were asleep." Sam commented when she trudged down into the main room. Lexi shrugged.

"I couldn't." She pushed the papers towards him. "I think this one will work." Sam scanned them, unable to keep the eagerness from his face.

"But...But we have to wait until the very last day...I didn't realize that before...Lexi, that's dangerous." She nodded, and then pulled something from behind her back.

"I managed to go through my old room while I was at my sisters. I didn't really have a specialty back then, but I was pretty heavy into Hoodoo and Voodoo. Think this'll be enough for the three of us?" Sam opened the drawstring bag, looking up at his friend skeptically.

"Goofer dust?"

"Don't base all you opinions on one bad experience. I told you; if worst comes to worst, I won't hesitate in Super-gluing it to the floor." Lexi took a few of the pages back and sat heavily in one of the chairs. Sam watched her carefully, seeing the way her eyes seemingly skimmed across the page.

"What's the matter with you? You're all swirly and twitchy." Lexi eyed him from across the top of her papers.

"Dean didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"We...I was working on these on the way back and he took them. We got into a fight."

"He's too stubborn."

"And then...God Sam, he actually admitted he was scared. And I know he is, I've known for a while, but he actually came out and said it today. I can't help but think...think that he's going to do something stupid."

"We'll just have to watch him, is all."

"Sam, this is Dean we're talking about."

"Watch him carefully?" She threw a pencil at his head.

-

It was past three when Lexi crawled back in beside Dean, too tired to be graceful about it.

"Where'd you go?" He asked, his voice sleep filled and raspy.

"Help Sam, translate thing." He lifted an arm and let her snuggle up next to him.

"I wish you'd stop." Lexi groaned.

"We went over this once, Dean. I don't want to fight about it twice."

"I didn't tell you to stop. I just said I wished you would." He whispered back, hugging her tighter for a fraction of a second.

"Well, wish for something easy; like lollipops and candy canes. Because I can guarantee that you'll never get what you want." Lexi mumbled around a yawn, burying her head in his chest. Dean chuckled a little.

"Guess I should know that."

"Pro-Probably." She muttered around another yawn.

-One week-

"Bobby, please tell me you have a job of some sort for me to do. I'm going stir crazy here man." Really, he knew the scratching and barking sounds in the back of his head weren't a sign he was going crazy, just that his time was running out.

"Well, there's rumors of a poltergeist in Cherokee, Iowa..." Dean's face lit up at the news.

"Awesome. I'll be back in a couple of days." Bobby refrained from pointing out it was the middle of the night, and just watched Dean pick up his bag.

"You're not taking Lexi or Sam with you?" Dean shrugged.

"No point in waking them up just for a poltergeist. I'll deal with it." Bobby's brow furrowed.

"Dean, I don't think I have to remind you how long you've got. You don't think it's a little unfair to be leaving them without so much as a note when you have a week left?" Dean kept his face hidden. He wanted to say that's exactly why he was leaving. He didn't want to be anywhere near them when it was time. He didn't want them to see that.

"I'll be back soon." Was all he managed to say instead, before walking out of the door. He told himself that it was for the best, even as he thought he heard the gohst of a mocking bark on the wind.

-

"He left?" Sam's voice was raised, although the pain written all over his face was enough to say he wasn't angry.

"Where'd he go? Bobby?" Lexi asked quietly, diverting her eyes to the floor.

"Cherokee, Iowa." The older hunter told her. She was standing up in less than three seconds.

"I'm going to get him. Sam, you stay here and make sure everything's ready for..." She couldn't say it. "...For then."

"Lexi...don't you think I should..." She looked at him, trying to hide how hurt she was really feeling underneath a playful smirk.

"Don't tell me I don't know how to do my job." She said sarcastically, before slinging a bag over her shoulder and checking that her keys were in the pocket of her jeans.

"I'm..." The slam of the door echoed through the living room. "...Not." He sighed, looking up at Bobby, who was shaking his head, slight smile on his face.

"They're both stubborn asses...you got your hands full there boy."

-

Lexi stewed the whole drive. How could he? Just up and leave; that was what he did. Not even a fucking goodbye. Well, as far as she knew. She'd just fallen into bed the night before.

"Jerk..." She muttered, turning the volume up with an angry twist of her wrist. Black Velvet filled the car, and she set her jaw.

So by the time she got to Cherokee, Iowa, Lexi was pissed.

By the time she found the Impala in a motel parking lot, she was beyond pissed.

By the time she saw Dean walking into his room, she was angry. And hurt, and a million other things she didn't even want to examine closely.


	11. Chapter 11

Dean didn't see the hand snaking towards him until it was on his cheek, stinging and hurting.

"What the...Lexi?" He just blinked at her.

"You're a fucking asshole, Dean. How..." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the room, throwing the keys onto the counter.

"Not out there."

"Well fine. At least then you won't have any witnesses." He smiled, but she didn't smile back. That should have been the first indicator.

"Lex, I..."

"Oh please. Yeah, let me hear exactly how you excuse yourself this time, Dean." He sighed heavily.

"I didn't...I didn't want you to..."

"Didn't want me to what?"

"I didn't want you to see me like..."

"Like what? God Dean..." She turned away, running a hand through her hair. And that should have been the second indicator.

"What?"

"I just..." Lexi swiped a hand across her eyes, before looking back up at him. "What happened to enjoying what we have? It was you who said that, not me." She was all out yelling now, looking up at him with blue eyes clouded by tears.

"I can't." His voice caught on the last word, and he looked away. She pulled him back forcefully, but didn't make him look at her.

"You can't? You can't?! What about Sam? What about _me_? What are we supposed to do while you're out here supposedly protecting us from seeing you be a normal person for once? There's nothing wrong with being afraid, Dean. Or fucking terrified! Because you know, as scary as it must be for you to think about what might happen, it's just as bad for us! Do you think we want to see you go to hell? Do you?!"

"No, but..."

"Don't give me a but! There is no but! Do you think that if we don't see you for the week leading up that it's not going to feel like there's a hole inside big enough to get swallowed by? That it'll be easier picking up what's left? Do you...Do you think that either of us will be the same?" Dean finally looked up, seeing the broken look on Lexi's face. If she realized that the tears she'd valiantly tried to hold back were streaming down her face she didn't acknowledge it.

She was a pretty crier. Not like women in movies, where the makeup stays exactly the same, but her face didn't go blotchy, and she didn't break down fully. The tears formed two lines down her cheeks, trailing down until they reached her chin and fell.

Pretty crier she might have been, but that just made it easier for Dean to see her emotions play out on her face. He could see her heart breaking even as he looked at her, and it was tearing him to shreds.

He could see the way her eyes were pleading with him to understand, to come back to Bobby's and stay.

He turned away.

"You'll live. Go back, Lexi." Her mouth dropped open.

"W...What?" He turned around quickly, setting his jaw before he did.

"You heard. Go back. I'm not coming." A hushed sob escaped her lips, and it split him in two.

"Fine." She walked out of the door and back to her car with as much dignity as she could muster, but as soon as the door shut behind her, she cried.

Dean heard her go. Footsteps crunching in the gravel, he heard her go. Then when he heard the Buick's engine rumble to life, Dean set his back against the door and slid to the floor.

And then, Dean Winchester cried. Head in his hands, harsh sobs torn from his throat, cried.

-

Sam tried Lexi's phone for the third time.

"Either they kissed and made up, or she's wrecked...I'll kill him, I swear..." He muttered. Bobby caught his eye and raised an eyebrow. "You know what I mean."

"I do...Just give them time."

"Time's something we don't have much of, Bobby."

"We've got enough."

-

She didn't bother trying to stop the tears. It wouldn't do much good. What was strange, though, was that she hadn't been much of a crier.

Not before she met Dean.

Lexi would be willing to bet that, in the two months she'd known him, she'd cried more than the rest of her life put together. He just played with her emotions, whether intentionally or not. And god, she wasn't about to let this go.

She was emotionally wrecked. Her body was willing, but her mind wasn't able.

That wouldn't have happened.

Not before she met Dean.

-

Sam heard the front door creak open around midnight, and stood up immediately to see what the damage was. Lexi walked in, devoid of her usual swagger. The one that was the entire reason Sam, like his brother, had noticed her straight away.

"Lexi, how..." Her silent headshake made him stop talking. It wasn't until the light caught on the delicate angles of her face that he saw two clear tear tracks.

She slumped into one of the rickety old chairs, picking up a manuscript without saying a word. Sam made as if to say something again, only she stopped him.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Crying had made her voice hoarse, broken. Sam nodded, swallowing past the sudden lump in his throat.

"That's fine." It wasn't fine. It was the farthest thing from it.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N-Sorry for the wait, computers have been screwing me around, and school isn't helping. Oh, don't own the song that makes a brief appearance.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean tried to draw it out, he really did, but when one of the Poltergeist's victims ended up in hospital, he had no choice.

In three days, Dean managed to get rid of the thing. Which left him time to think.

And, inevitably, thinking led to downing shot after shot of Jack Daniels in his motel room, because it just plain hurt. He discovered after a while that if he got drunk enough quick enough, he almost couldn't hear the telltale barks and yowls of dogs.

It was on one such evening that there was a knock on the door.

"I'm comin'." He said, almost staggering over to open the door.

A much more tired looking Lexi stood there, jaw set and eyes almost cold. She sighed when she saw the bottle clutched loosely in his hand.

"Give it here, Dean." He allowed her to take it off him, relishing in the momentary brush of her fingers on his.

"What're you doin' here?" He winced when she threw the bottle into the metal trashcan, hearing the glass shatter. She walked around the room, picking up the few things he'd bothered unpacking and shoving them without ceremony into his bag.

"Getting you. Where are the keys to the Impala?" Wordlessly he handed them to her from the pocket of his brown leather jacket.

"I told you to leave." She threw the now closed bag near the door with a sharp sound that had him flinch.

"Yeah, and I'm done doing what you tell me." She growled, eyes flashing with life dangerously for the first time in four days.

"Lexi..." He moved closer, nothing but sorrow on his face. She held up a hand.

"Now's not the time. Sam!" His brother appeared in the doorway, and apart from a cursory glance, paid no attention to Dean. Lexi tossed Sam the keys and indicated Dean's bag.

"You sure you want to ride with him?" Sam asked her quietly; right near her ear. Lexi threw a glance at Dean, helpless look on her face for a fraction of a second.

"Yep. Meet you back at Bobby's."

-

Lexi helped him to her car, trying not to look too closely at him. He was, for want of a better word, a mess. She supposed, if she hadn't have been busy making sure he was still going to be here after his year was up, she would've been the same.

She climbed into the driver's side and turned the keys in the ignition. The radio came to life, and her ears were bombarded with the chorus of Goodbye My Lover.

Lexi tried to ignore the irony as she turned it off.

"S'true." She heard Dean mutter, proving he wasn't dead to the world.

Yet.

"Don't go saying your good-byes just yet."

-

They were halfway to Bobby's, driving in silence, when she heard Dean shift in his restless sleep. Her hand was in his unkempt hair before she quickly snatched it back. Only he followed, pressing against her palm.

"M'Sorry." He murmured, breathing out a sigh. She bit her lip, wondering if there was anyone else who had the ability to crumble any angry resolve that she had faster than Dean did.

Long fingers curled briefly in his hair.

"You should be." It was meant to come out muttered, angry, but somewhere a breath got caught, and it sounded like she was going to cry. She wasn't so sure she wouldn't.

Dean smiled sleepily, eyes still shut, and for god's sakes, he had to be superhuman. No one could do this to her.

-

"Just put him on the sofa, Sam. No way am I trying the stairs." Dean woke to the sound of Lexi's protesting. And he could swear Sam was half carrying him...Not that he tried to rectify the situation.

"Fine." Then he was falling backwards slowly, but when his head hit the pillow Dean was almost asleep again.

"I'm just going to go over everything, you get some sleep."

"Lex, we've been over it a billion times. It's going to work." Sam sounded so confident; Dean almost let himself believe it.

"I know...Just get some rest." Dean could picture Sam shaking his head even as he listened to him walking away.

There was the sound of lighter footsteps, treading carefully, and Dean blearily opened an eye.

"Lex?" She turned around.

"Yeah?" Her voice was like a whisper in the quiet of the room.

"Can you..." He hesitated. And that was funny in itself, because Dean had never hesitated, not before her.

"What?" She tucked that same stray piece of hair behind her ear, the one that was forever falling into her eyes when she didn't pin it back.

"Will you stay?" He tried to sit up a bit, but then she was there.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you." She whispered as she settled onto the sofa in front of him, chest pressed up against his.

"I wouldn't forgive me either." He told her, dropping a kiss onto the top of her forehead like it was meant to be.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N-Okay, so there's three chapters left, all of which should be up in teh next week or so. Now, when I say should, we all know I mean should, and not will...and if they're not, blame Jason. Because everything's his fault : P  
Oh, and not so graphic sex towards the middle, just a heads up

Sam nearly fell when he entered the living room the next morning.

Lexi was curled up in front of Dean, sleeping soundlessly. That wasn't right. Lexi held grudges. It was one of her main flaws. Sam used to tease her about it all the time. It always took twice as long to make up with her than anyone else, because Lexi held grudges.

And here she was, sleeping wrapped around the guy who'd had her so turned round on herself she'd cried herself to sleep every night since he'd told her to go.

It looked like there was a completely different set of rules where Dean was concerned...Or none at all. Sam couldn't decide.

He was halfway across the room when Dean caught his eye.

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Was the first thing Sam said to him? Dean could live with that. Just like he could live with a throbbing head, if it meant he could lie next to Lexi a while longer.

"It's been said." He replied. Sam just grinned and motioned to the kitchen.

"You want a coffee? Maybe a couple of aspirin?"

"You're a genius."

"It's been said." Sam shot back, and walked out of the room.

God Dean had missed the early morning banter with Sam, and had the circumstances been different he might have relaxed. But his stomach was churning, and Dean wasn't sure if it was just the cruel side of his mind playing tricks on him or not, but he could swear he heard the steady ticking of a clock.

He swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut and breathing in.

His nostrils were inundated with Lexi's scent. It was a mixture of car and girl and something vaguely tropical that he assumed was perfume. Either way, it lingered on his clothes if she'd worn them; something that she had, in the past weeks, decided was nice. Not that he complained. Usually one of his shirts hit the top of her thigh, draping over her curves nicely. Since she was usually up before him, he'd allowed himself to enjoy the sight for a few moments before letting her know he was awake.

Dean sighed. It was just another thing he'd stored away, something to remember when his bill came due...If that was possible.

-

Lexi watched him as she sipped on her coffee, feet propped up on a couple of books that were on the coffee table. Dean was staring towards the window, looking but not seeing, deep in thought. Can you hear them yet? She wanted to ask. She knew it was why he'd left a week ago, why he'd almost scrambled away from her as soon as he realized she was awake.

They were, more or less, back to where they started, unsure of where the boundaries lay. Well, she was pretty sure they knew. He was just...distant. And he confused her, which in turn rattled her, and...God when did this get so frustrating?

"So, did you get rid of it?" He looked over at her quickly.

"What?"

"The poltergeist; did you get rid of it?" He nodded, before resuming his mindless staring. Lexi shifted experimentally closer to him; he didn't seem to notice.

She was almost touching him before he looked at her.

"What?" She rolled her eyes and huffed out a sigh, before lifting his arm up and fitting herself underneath, pressed against his chest.

"I might not forgive you, but I still love you. You're not by yourself tonight, Dean." He hesitated a minute before letting his arm fall down over her shoulders.

"Love you too." It was all he could push past the growing lump in his throat.

"Let's go for a walk." She said after a while, standing up and offering him a hand. He stared for a second before taking the offered hand and standing up.

-

The air outside was still, almost as if waiting for something to happen. Dean thought he'd at least be able to hear anything coming before he saw it. Lexi squeezed his hand, and he hadn't even realized she was still holding on, probably feeling him tense.

He looked down at her and she smiled, easy and natural, as if it didn't feel like there was a huge pit in her stomach to match his. She was as sure as possible that tonight was going to go their way, but she couldn't help the nerves, and the doubt, and the worry.

"Where are we going?" He asked after a while of comfortable silence.

"Just somewhere I found the other day." Dean was sure he knew every inch of Bobby's, and while it was the closest thing to home, it wasn't anything special. But he followed anyway, because it was her.

Eventually they reached an old fence, made out of thick wooden planks. Lexi didn't stop, just slid her legs through and sat. Dean followed suit, crossing his arms on the top beam. Lexi was looking out in front of them, at an almost dried up creek he hadn't realized was there, but he couldn't take his eyes off her face.

He rested his head on his arms and continued to watch her, smile forming on his face. At last she pulled her eyes from the view and looked at him.

"What?" He shook his head, smirk in place. "Seriously, what?" She shoved him a little and he laughed.

"Nothing." He pushed her back. She laughed in spite of herself.

"You're a liar, what is it?"

"Nothing!" She pushed him and he fell off the plank and into the mud below. He looked up at her, still grinning. "Bitch."

"Jerk." She went back to staring out over the largely deserted field, realizing too late that he'd grabbed her hand, and that she was, indeed, falling down to join him.

"What, did you think I was gonna lay here by myself?" He teased, pushing a handful of mud over her.

"Why did you do that?" She spluttered, trying to push mud off her clothes, but only succeeding in working it in further. Dean shrugged, settling back and putting his hands behind his head.

"Cause I could." Lexi picked up a handful and threw it in his face. "Okay, I deserved that."

"You think?" She asked, giving up on her clothes as a lost cause and looking up into the cloud spotted sky as Dean was doing. She may or may not have been expecting the mud in her face, either way it resulted in an enormous mud fight.

Which concluded with Lexi sitting on top of Dean laughing as he held her hands above her head in an effort to prevent her from throwing any more on him.

"Truce?" He asked, somewhat breathless. She narrowed her eyes playfully for a second, giggles spilling from her lips.

"I s'pose." Before he realized what he was doing, Dean leaned up and pulled her down at the same time, until his lips grazed hers. She sighed her appreciation and twined her fingers in his.

"Wait...Not out here." She nodded without opening her eyes, soft smile on her face.

-

"Look..." Lexi picked up the bright yellow post-it on the back door decorated with Sam's neat scrawl. Dean hooked his chin over her shoulder and read.

"Gone out to grab food, Bobby's with me..." Dean turned his head, teasing kiss planted on her cheek. "He's smart, I'll give him that."

"He knew..."

"Knew what?"

"That it's damn impossible to stay mad with you." Lexi turned and wrapped her arms around Dean's neck, trailing her fingertips through the soft hair near the nape of his neck.

"Good for me. I'd understand though." He slanted his mouth up to kiss her deeper, before she pulled away, puzzled look on her face.

"Understand what?"

"If you stayed mad at me." He said, turning his face away. Lexi pushed his mud soaked shirt off of his shoulders, exposing a clingy T-shirt. "What I did was...it was wrong, and selfish, no matter how much I tried to tell myself I did it so you wouldn't have to...to deal with me."

"Dean?" By now her fingers were trailing small circles on the skin near his hip, pushing the T-shirt gradually higher. He looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." Before he could protest she covered his mouth with hers, pulling back only to push his shirt off. "Kick your boots off." She told him.

"Why?"

"We're not getting mud in the house. Why do you think we're getting undressed out here?" His chuckle was swept away by her next kiss, lifting her shirt over her head.

-

How they made it up the stairs was a mystery to Lexi. She was so breathless by the time they reached the bedroom they'd been sharing she couldn't think straight, but that didn't seem to matter.

Dean was lowering her onto the bed, callused hands guiding and making sure she didn't fall. Even so, it seemed finesse had been abandoned at the back door along with their clothing. She could feel his erection straining his boxers as he ground against her, tilting her head just where he wanted it so he could kiss her better.

Lexi moved to get rid of her underwear, but a gentle hand covering hers stopped her.

"Don't...Let me, please?" Dean asked as if he were actually scared she might refuse. Lexi just smiled and relaxed, spreading her hands on his back. Dean placed one last kiss on her swollen lips and drew back, looking down at her.

Long eyelashes formed half circles on her cheeks, the rise and fall of her chest steady. He trailed a hand over one of her collarbones, only just the barest touch. She let out a breathy sigh and rolled her head to one side.

Dean pulled her gently off the bed, reaching an arm around to unhook the clasp of her bra and draw it off her, throwing it carelessly to the floor. He then lay her back on the bed, stealing another moment to just look.

Not wanting to leave her for too long, Dean stood quickly and shucked his boxers, leaving them to pool on the floor as he settled over her once again.

Eventually his soft touches brought his hands low over her abdomen, and she tried not to squirm at the ticklish butterfly feeling pooling in her stomach.

Soft lips and cool teeth, nipping and soothing in turn inevitably followed every trail made by wandering fingers. Dean pressed his lips to her hip once more, fingers slipping underneath the side of her panties. He pushed them over her hips, and eventually off.

He could smell her, musky and strong, and I was just another thing to remember. Wondering fingers trailed over her wet folds, and she pushed against him, arousal more than apparent.

"Dean..." She whined, pressing against him. To his surprise, he felt tears pricking the back of his eyes.

"Lexi, please...I just..." He drew in a breath, stilling his hand. "I...I need to remember." His words hit her like a brick, and she barely noticed the tear sliding down her cheek, even as she could the barest tremor running through his lithe body.

"...Okay."

-

When Sam walked in, Lexi had her hands in the sink, washing what was left of breakfast dishes.

"I don't think I'm gonna let you leave." Bobby mused, following Sam into his house. Lexi grinned.

"You might have a bit of competition there."

"Where's Dean?" Sam asked, sticking his head into the lounge and seeing the TV was off. Lexi stifled a laugh.

"Putting some things into the wash." She turned to Bobby. "You don't mind, do you?" He shrugged.

"No more than I mind having you three around." Sam spun around to look at her, disbelieving look on his face.

"Dean's putting things in a washing machine?" Lexi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, why, what's wrong with that?"

"My brother, the laziest, most unwashed creature to ever walk the earth, is putting clothes in the washing machine?"

"That hurts Sammy, after all, I'm a joy to be around." Lexi caught Dean's eye, remembering the circumstance that caused him to be putting their clothes in the washing machine in the first place. He grinned and turned away quickly before he started laughing.

Sam looked between the two.

"I'm not even gonna ask."

-

Lexi was watching Dean get increasingly twitchy throughout the rest of the day, until finally he walked up to the room, dragging a hand through his hair as he went. Lexi looked over at Sam, who shook his head and motioned for her to go.

"Lazy shit." She cuffed him on the ear as she walked past, but she could feel the nerves practically lining her stomach.

Lexi stopped outside the door when she reached the room, biting her lip and wondering what she could say without lying her ass off.

Not much. Figures.

Upon reaching that particular conclusion, she huffed out a heavy sigh and pushed open the door. Dean was pacing the room, hair sticking up at all angles from where he'd run his hands through it. Seeming to give up on whatever pacing was doing, Dean sank onto the bed, holding his head in one hand.

Finally he turned it to see her leaning against the doorway. He tried to smile. Lexi saw right through it and briskly crossed the room to sit next to him on the bed, as close as she could without actually being in his lap.

"Lexi..." She opened her mouth to stop the protest she knew was coming. "No, don't say anything. I just need to make sure; you're positive that this isn't going to do anything to Sam?" She nodded, before leaning her head on his shoulder.

"From what you said, the bitch only said if you try to welch or weasel your way out of the deal Sam would drop dead. And seeing as you've been against the whole thing, it doesn't count." Dean sighed.

"I wasn't...against, it. I just don't want it to count for nothing, because you know I'd do it again." Lexi nodded. Something seemed to occur to Dean. "And what do you mean 'from what I said'? I never spoke with you about anything that went down with that bitch." Lexi discreetly chewed the inside of her cheek.

"I meant...Sam said..."

"Sam said? I didn't talk to him about it either." Trust Dean to be difficult. "You... Oh my god." She closed her eyes and thanked her lucky stars he hadn't found out until now.

"Dean..."

"You...You went and spoke with her! She could've killed you, Lexi."

"Last time I checked, I didn't have a deal with her. And I had the Colt, what was she gonna do without getting her ass shot up?" Dean thought back to any time that Lexi had the opportunity.

"When?" His voice was whisper quiet. She fidgeted next to him.

"Ages ago." He turned to look at her, and she could practically feel his eyes boring into her skull. "Okay, fine. When we got back from Chicago, that morning I came in at three and said I was helping Sam translate the ritual to check it."

"Why?" This had to be his best passive aggressive. Or he was really stunned. She couldn't see properly.

"I had to...I had to make sure it was safe."

"How did you get her to tell you exactly what my deal was?"

"I...used my knowledge to the best of my ability?" She finished lamely, and his eyebrows rose even further towards his hairline.

"You tortured her."

"If you want to put it that way..." She muttered, looking away. Dean gave a disbelieving laugh next to her.

"And did you happen to find out who held the contract? And how are we getting around it, by the way?"

"First off, we're not getting around it. Her deals are at face value. She said _you_ try to weasel your way out, Sam drops dead. Sam and me are doing the weaseling, not you, so it's legitimate. And no idea who holds the contract, she still wouldn't say."

"Figures..."

"Hey man, you're the one who should know. Who'd you piss off?" He gave her a look and she relented. "Okay, stupid question."

"How..." Dean thought about how best to phrase it. "How are things going down tonight?"

"I can't tell you."

"What?"

"If I do, you're helping with the weaseling. So just...let me and Sam take care of you." He snorted.

"That'll be the day." She hit his arm, giving him a small smile.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N-Second last chapter...think this one's a cliffie. ahahaha. In my defence, I'll try not ot make you wait too long...

"Everything ready Sam?" He gave her a look so twin to Dean's earlier one when she asked who he'd pissed off Lexi drew back a little.

"It's been ready for days. Let's get it over with." Lexi could sense the edge Sam was hiding well behind bravado. She trudged back over to the window and looked out.

"Can't; Sun's not set yet." Sam groaned in frustration just as Dean came down the stairs, looking pale and on edge.

"How long do you reckon?" Lexi took another look, furrowing her brow.

"Um...can't be more than five minutes or so." She walked over to Dean as Sam took her place, looking for the entire world like a kid waiting for Santa Claus.

"Wish it'd hurry up." She heard Sam mutter.

Sliding a hand down Dean's arm, she picked up his hand.

"You alright?" Dean took beat, eyes flicking towards the door, started to nod, and then caved and shook his head no. "Nice to see some honesty." She teased, and he gave her a distracted smile.

Sam shifted restlessly and glanced at the blood red sky again. The stairs creaked and he whipped around to see Bobby. He gave him a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to stare out the window.

"You sittin' there staring isn't gonna make it happen any faster, Sam."

"Makes me feel better." He muttered. Lexi stifled a laugh, before looking up at Dean's drawn face.

"Sit." She nodded to the sofa. He just shook his head, and Lexi momentarily felt his grip on her hand tighten. Then Sam stood up, trying to hide the grin on his face.

"It's time. Lexi." Sam handed her a couple of Latin manuscripts that she had almost memorized anyway. Next to her Lexi felt Dean startle a little and she made up her mind.

"Don't let go, okay?" She whispered, and he looked grateful.

-

Dean could hear them clear as day now, sometimes close, sometimes far, always so god damn distracting.

Instead he shut his eyes and focused on Lexi's voice; lilting and confident, and so familiar it made him feel safe.

Sam had always been better than him at Latin, but words jumped out at him here and there. _Protect_, and _power_, and others too.

Lexi actually jumped the first time the hellhound's crashes became audible to her own ears, faltering for a second before continuing with renewed confidence. Part of her was cursing herself for not telling Dean anything about what was going to go down, especially towards the end, but she knew they couldn't risk it. Instead she readjusted her grip on Dean's hand.

Sam lit candle after candle, running things over and over in his head. He knew, down to the last detail, what was going to happen in the exact order it _had_ to happen. Lexi hadn't told Dean anything, which he'd hotly debated that afternoon while Dean had been showering.

Sure, she'd convinced him that if Dean knew it was a risk to his own life, and by proxy Dean's, but Sam wasn't happy about it. It was going to hurt.

He sighed and lit the next candle as he replayed their whisper-yelling match. Necessary evil; he'd never heard anything so stupid come out of her mouth in his whole life.

Even if it was true.

-

Lexi was two thirds of the way through when she felt Dean shudder for the first time. She turned her head away from his questioning gaze and continued to read, stopping where she was meant to and taking her cues from Sam and Bobby.

The door thudded open, lock twisted and useless.

Sam set his jaw, knowing it wouldn't matter now if the ritual candles went out. They were past that stage. He drew the symbols he had to with pinpoint accuracy, somehow blocking out the growling dogs. No fucking way were they getting into this place, not with all of Bobby's protection.

And, you know, Goofer dust.

Dean tried to catch Lexi's eye, but she was stubbornly avoiding his gaze. He knew she couldn't tell him, but that had _hurt_. She hadn't said anything about that, not even a hint. He didn't have the chance to open his mouth before she came to another pause and another bolt of pain shot through him.

She could hear him gasping for air next to her, free hand pressed to his side, which she could only guess was where he was hurting, while the other remained locked around hers so hard it was painful. She wasn't complaining though; she deserved it for not telling him it would hurt.

And it was going to get worse before it got better.

-

Twice more and Dean dropped to his knees. Lexi didn't miss a beat, just settled next to him as he inadvertently pulled her with him.

He was panting from the exertion of not crying out, thin line of blood trickling from his lip where he'd been biting.

He was really coming to dread the pauses in Lexi's recitation, because it only got worse each time. She looked at him under her lashes for the first time since the first one and apologized with her eyes.

Lexi drew in a sharp breath at the sound practically ripped from Dean's throat. He was struggling to catch his breath, a dry sob caught in his throat, doubled over. And still he hadn't let go of her hand.

The wind had picked up outside, and the door was banging harshly, a cacophony of sound together with a clap of thunder and the howls of god knows what. The discord was stunning, blending and churning with the rising cadences of Lexi's voice.

And it just kept going.

-

She felt the first tear slide down her cheek as his scream pierced through the howling wind and crashing thunder in the air.

Then he let go.

-

Dean could barely force a breath, and he could feel pain vibrating through every fiber of his body. Somewhere, some part of him was aware that there was wetness on his cheeks, but it was purely an automatic reaction to the pain.

The wicked blend of sounds was hurting his ears and vaguely he was aware that his scream was among it all, along with choked sobs somehow finding a way to the surface.

Suddenly it stopped, and everything went a blinding color he couldn't distinguish or name. It was eerily silent and strangely calm, like the eye of a hurricane. And he couldn't feel any more, or think, and hell, he wasn't even sure he was breathing.

-

Everything stopped, and Lexi looked to Sam.

He looked from his brother's prone form to her expectant face and nodded. She threw the now useless pages to the floor and pulled Dean to lean against her chest, the sound of his scream still echoing in her ears, sight of him arching in pain burned onto her eyelids

"Dean? Dean!" Hurriedly Lexi brushed a mixture of sweat and tears off Dean's face and waited with bated breath, Sam kneeling next to them.


	15. End

A/N-Ta Dum! The final chapter. I'm not sure if it will be the last you hear of Dean and Lexi, or Sam and a certain someone either for that matter (you'll find out later in the chapter) because they seem to all have taken up residence in my head. I'd like to say a big thanks to those of you who took the time to review, because they really do make me happy. No seriously, you wouldn't believe...Jason knows. Anywho, I wouldn't dream of leaving you hanging any longer, so...

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"...Dean? Dean!" Vaguely he could hear Lexi, but it was distant.

"Dean Winchester...I still don't believe they found you a way out of this." This new voice was accompanied by an annoyingly familiar figure walking out of the still unidentifiable color, arms folded.

"Wh...What?" He was sure he wasn't saying this out loud, because he could still hear Lexi begging.

"They got you out of your deal, and the three of you are still alive...Unbelievable." Dean didn't know it was possible to sound so disgusted and still awed all at the same time. But then, this didn't exactly seem like reality.

"If I'm alive, what the...fuck am I doing talking to you, you bitch?" He spat out, because this was weird. He could feel Lexi at his back, Sam at his side, hear her crying, even halfway see them, but he couldn't respond.

"You've got a choice to make; you can go back to them, or you can go somewhere else." Shit, not this again...Dean was so sick of the games. "Just to prove to you I'm not a total bitch, I'll give you a peek."

He was getting flashes; Lexi now, paler than ever, tear marks streaking her beautiful face as Sam practically supported her weight. He could even see Jennie with a hand on her sister's arm. And they were all looking at a grave marker of some kind...no prizes for figuring out it was his own.

Then another, what looked to be a couple of years down the track, her face older, more strained. And she was...No, no he couldn't watch it.

"Stop! Enough, already." She smirked at him.

"Can't see her do that to herself because of you?" He met her eyes defiantly, suddenly not caring if he gave her another thing to use against them; he wasn't ashamed he loved her.

"No."

Then there were more; Again Lexi was older, only Dean could see himself with an arm wrapped around her waist, whispering something in her ear that made her laugh.

Sam standing next to a woman he didn't recognize, watching a child who had alarmingly Sam-like features climbing over a...oh god, a white picket fence. In front of a standard two story house in the suburbs. Two cars in the garage, dog running around in the front lawn.

"Something funny, Dean?" He realized he was laughing.

"Yeah, actually; the fact you even have to ask."

-

Lexi cradled his head in her arms, his cold nose pressing into her neck as she rocked them back and forwards slowly. The only thing running through her head was that he wasn't breathing, and there was a full-blown ache in the pit of her stomach, in her heart, everywhere.

She could feel Sam's hand on her arm, trying to pull her away, but she pushed him off, running a hand through Dean's sweat soaked hair as the tears continued to flow thick and fast. She could hear herself apologizing, over and over and over, because it was all she could say.

Dean finally managed to open his eyes, although the room did sway a little. Next he drew a breath, relishing in the feeling of his lungs filling and relieving some of the burning sensation in his throat. He was aware of a sudden wetness on his neck and falteringly managed to raise a hand into Lexi's hair enough to pull her away.

She simply blinked at him for a few seconds.

"You just gonna sit there? Or do I get an actual explanation for all that?"

-

Dean, from his position on the sofa propped up by pillows, raised his eyebrows expectantly at Lexi and Sam, waiting for either of them to begin. Lexi was perched on the coffee table, now cleared of candles and pages of Latin, while Sam hadn't moved from the floor.

"You know guys, any second now would be nice."

"I'm still processing 'You're still alive', give me a minute." Sam said, shaking his head a little.

"Jeez, you didn't get that used to it in a couple of minutes, did you?" Dean asked, pretending to be miffed at the thought.

"Scared the living shit out of me...Fucking asshole..." Dean was catching snippets of Lexi's muttering and trying not to laugh. Now that it was over, he was finding the situation all a little funny.

"Okay well...see..." Sam looked at Lexi for support, and she scrubbed a hand over her face and through her hair.

"With the deal you made, your soul was to be collected tonight. So, the idea with the ritual was to make it so there was nothing to collect at said time. With me so far?" Lexi asked.

"I think..." Dean said suspiciously; he didn't like where this was going.

"The reason it hurt was because...well, your soul's a pretty fucking important part of you, basically." Another time, Dean might have recognized that the reason she was cussing so much had to do with the fact she was still shaken, as Lexi was prone to do, but his eyes were wide now.

"So what you're saying is that, for about three minutes of my life, I had no soul." He yelped. Sam thought about this, then nodded.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I am never, ever, leaving you two alone with computers, books or anything like them ever again."

"Why?"

"Because this is what you do! Fuck..." Dean shook his head a little, comprehending for the first time.

-

Dean watched Lexi carefully when Sam left to grab a couple of celebratory drinks. She was still sitting on the coffee table, and he could see the remnants of tear tracks still on her cheeks.

"C'mere." He told her, lifting up an arm to give her room. She looked at him skittishly. Fidgeting with one of her rings a little.

"You're not going to die on me again, are you?" He let out a laugh and shook his head, shifting to give her room.

A grin suddenly lit up her face and she was next to him in a flash, pressing a kiss first to his forehead, then nudging his head up so she could plant one firmly on his full lips. She rested her forehead on his and shut her eyes, letting out a breath that sounded like a cross between a laugh and a sob.

"I thought...I was so scared I'd lost you...I thought I was never going to..." He shushed her the only way that seemed feasible; leaning up and kissing her.

"M'here now."

-

Sam was about to walk in from the kitchen with Bobby when he stopped in the doorway, seeing them kissing.

Biting his lip, he turned around and shook his head at the older hunter in a gesture that said he'd explain in a minute. He settled at the kitchen table and handed Bobby his beer.

"Just leave them for a bit." He said by way of explanation.

Bobby grinned.

-

It took about a week for Dean to be back to his prior strength, but true to form he spent most of it sleeping.

Lexi leaned the kitchen chair back on two legs and looked into the living room.

"How does he sleep so much? It's impossible, I swear." She shook her head. Sam looked up from his coffee.

"It's Dean." She laughed and set the chair back down, before running a hand through her hair.

"God knows I could do with that much sleep...Ugh."

"Why, can't sleep without him next to you?" Sam teased. Lexi waved a knife from the table at him to ennunciate her next point.

"Hey, you get used to having your own personal bed warmer after a while. And I wasn't about to let him kill himself trying the stairs." Sam grinned.

"Good call." Lexi was about to snap back a retort when the ringing of a cell phone cut her off. Sam stood up quickly, and she noticed a red tinge in his cheeks.

So, older sister figure she was, Lexi scrambled out of her chair and blocked the door.

"This is the second time this morning, who is it?" He tried to dodge round her, avoiding her eyes.

"No one. Lexi, let me get to my phone."

"Sam, the only way you're getting around her is to pick her up."

"Dean! Grab his phone!" Obediently, for once, Dean picked up Sam's phone. He squinted at the display.

"Rachel? Who's Rachel?" Sam tried to shove Lexi out the way, red the prominent color on his face now. Lexi was giggling at him, fingers wrapped around the doorframe.

"No one. Dean, give me my phone!" Sam eventually gave up trying to dodge Lexi and slung her over his shoulder. She practically screeched in his ear and squirmed.

"Sam, put me down! Sam!"

"Dean, give me my phone or else."

"Or else what?" The phone was still ringing and Dean had the grin on his face that Sam knew meant he wasn't going to live this down.

"Just hand me the phone before it stops ringing."

"Ah Sammy, I'm sure you can call her back...She is on your speed dial."

"Dean..." Sam all but begged, somehow managing to avoid Lexi's attempts at getting away.

"Fine." Sam snatched his phone from Dean's grasp and flung Lexi onto the sofa next to Dean.

"Hey...no, just...couldn't find the phone..." Sam walked from the room, tips of his ears red now. Lexi, with her legs across Dean's lap, looked at him.

"Didn't mean to wake you." He laughed.

"I was awake...and besides, you think I'm gonna miss the chance to tease my kid brother?"

"I'd be disappointed if you did. Who's Rachel?" Lexi asked, pushing hair from her eyes.

"I don't know...I figured you'd know."

"Why would I know? I think we have some snooping to do here." Dean grinned.

"What did you have in mind?"

-

"Where's the laptop?" Sam motioned to the table, slipping his jacket on. About to say that he was going out, he sighed when he saw Lexi.

"How many coffee's today?" She looked up at him, innocent.

"This one's three." He stared at her until she huffed and slid down in her seat. "Okay, so this one's about seven, but..." He picked up the steaming mug and poured it down the drain.

She leapt out of the chair and watched it swirl down the sink.

"I'm going out. Don't let Dean onto my computer." She glared up at him.

"Why would you do that? I mean...Sam, that was my coffee." She whined, only to be met with a closed door.

Dean walked in to the kitchen, jeans slung low on his hips.

"Where's Sam?"

"Asshole just tipped my coffee down the..." She trailed off when she saw him. "As much as I appreciate the view, go put a shirt on."

"Why?"

"Cause I can't concentrate." Dean just laughed and grabbed one that was still residing in the living room, pulling it over his head.

"Happy?" He asked rhetorically before sitting in the chair next to Lexi and dragging it closer so he could drape and arm loosely around her.

"Okay...Sam's email password in college was James." Dean looked shocked. "What?"

"He used my middle name for his password?" Lexi laughed so hard she almost cried, while Dean just looked at her with a raised eyebrow until she calmed down.

"So..Sorry..." She gasped out, still trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Your parents got it the wrong way around...god, I can just imagine 'James Dean Winchester'." Dean was trying to look stern, but she could see the smile breaking out around the corners of his mouth, and he knew he was fighting a losing battle.

-

Lexi cornered Sam as soon as he stepped in the door.

"Where'd you go?"

"Out."

"For?"

"Drinks."

"Did you pay, or did Rachel?"

"Of course I paid, what kind of...You bitch, you read my emails."

"Nope, I just opened them, technically Dean did the reading."

"I told you not to let him on it."

"I didn't let him touch it. He just read it while I held it, so there." Sam looked frustrated.

"You two fit together real well, you know." He muttered, pushing past her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. It wouldn't have bothered her; it wasn't like she thought being like Dean was a bad thing, but something in the way he said it just pushed her buttons.

"It means, Lexi, that neither of you know how to mind your own fucking business!" Sam yelled, trying to get upstairs. Only then Dean was standing on the landing, blocking his way, arms folded.

"If you didn't sneak around, we wouldn't have to."

"Dean..." Sam said it like a warning. Dean just stood his ground.

"Don't 'Dean' me. We're just being responsible adults and looking out for who we're meant to look out for." Sam turned to Lexi and she wiped the smile off her face just in time, folding her arms and nodding seriously.

"You don't need to look out for me! I'm an adult." Dean took a beat, then smiled suddenly.

"I know. But you'll always be Sammy." He teased. Sam, pout on his face, sensed there was no way out and walked over to the sofa, sitting down heavily.

"Oh dear god Sam, you're going to get stuck that way if you don't get that look off your face right now. And then you won't look nice for Rachel at..." She looked to Dean.

"Nine o'clock Wednesday." He supplied, sitting down on the stairs. Sam glared at him.

Lexi sat down next to him on the sofa and nudged his shoulder. He wouldn't look at her though. Determined look on her face, she nudged him so hard he almost fell.

"What?"

"Well, C'mon, tell. When did you meet her? What's her surname just in case she hurts you and I have to start a good old-fashioned beat down on her ass? Stuff along those lines." Sam raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm never going to find out her last name now, am I?" Sam sighed, defeated.

"She came by the day after you guys left for Chicago, needed to pick something up from Bobby for a friend. She's kind of...I dunno, not really a hunter, exactly, she more does the research for a few friends in the business. We got talking, and then I asked if she wanted to catch up for coffee sometime."

"Making the first move, I'm proud Sammy." Dean interjected. Lexi snickered, which in turn made Sam groan.

"See, this is why you guys didn't get told."

"Sorry Sam." Lexi apologized, hanging her head playfully.

"So are you actually, like, dating?" Dean wanted to know. Sam nodded, and Dean caught Lexi's eye.

She smiled.

-

"All I'm saying is, it's not the biggest place. He'll spot us a mile off." Dean shrugged from behind the wheel of Lexi's car. God knows how he roped her into letting him drive it, but the thing was amazing.

"Fine. Double date. All the better to see who she is." Lexi laughed and shook her head.

"You're a bad big brother."

"I think I'm a great big brother."

"You would."

-

"Oh my god, they're holding hands over the table." Lexi was looking out of the window into the coffee shop, mouth open. "It took like six months for him to even ask Jess out."

Dean, however, was staring at Rachel.

"Holy..." Lexi turned to look at him.

"Oh great, thanks. That's real good Dean, just ogle her a little more." She huffed. He shook his head.

"No...Lex no. It's...I told you what happened after you finished the ritual, right?"

"Yeah." She was staring at the street now, arms crossed. Dean scooted closer to her and dropped his head to nuzzle at her neck.

"She was the one Sam was with." Lexi turned in his embrace and stared at him.

"You're kidding." Dean shook his head. Lexi turned back to look at them. "Let's go."

"What? Why?"

"Just leave them be. If Sam doesn't know about what happened afterwards, we're not telling him. Just...let him figure it out on his own." Dean pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You're so smart. I love you." She couldn't stop the warm fuzzy feeling running through her, just like every time.

"I love you too." And that was just getting easier and easier to say.


End file.
